Ridiculous not to consider Trident in the defence review
April 17, 2010 10:32 PM
Responding to Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth's comments on The Today Programme regarding Liberal Democrat policy on Trident, Liberal Democrat Shadow Defence Secretary, Nick Harvey said:
"This is pretty desperate stuff from Labour. Key figures in the military and defence establishment have called for a rethink on Trident.
"The Labour and Conservative policy of like-for-like replacement of Trident is absurd.
"At a time when the threats to our country have changed dramatically, when President Obama has just warned of the greatest nuclear danger being from terrorist use of nuclear material and when our troops are short on vital equipment in Afghanistan, Labour wants to press ahead with a £100bn nuclear weapons system designed for the Cold War and won't even consider Trident in the upcoming defence review. That makes no sense."
Labour and the Conservatives are committed to like-for-like renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons system, with four submarines to provide continuous at-sea patrols, equipped with 12 Trident missiles carrying multiple nuclear warheads. This is a Cold War-era nuclear weapons system, designed to destroy major cities in the Soviet Union.
The lifetime costs of the new system have been estimated at £100bn. The Government estimates submarine procurement costs alone at £15-20bn, but with average cost overruns of 40% for major defence projects, this could rise to £30bn.
Key figures in the defence establishment, including former service chiefs and Defence ministers are openly questioning the wisdom of the Labour and Conservative approach to nuclear weapons policy, and calling for new approaches.
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