Former Conservative Defence Secretary Michael Portillo has slammed plans to replace the UK’s Trident nuclear weapons system as ‘a waste of money’.
Speaking on BBC This Week on Thursday night, Portillo said:
“A former defence secretary and some Generals [this week] wrote a letter demanding the renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons programme. You’re probably familiar with these men who are worried about their own virility and buy large sports cars, and this I think is a case in point.
Our independent nuclear deterrent is not independent and doesn’t constitute a deterrent…”
“I mean, Britain now has a minute army and a microscopic navy. And as these have become smaller so the status symbol of having nuclear weapons becomes more important, at least to some people.
“Our independent nuclear deterrent is not independent and doesn’t constitute a deterrent against anybody that we regard as an enemy. It is a waste of money and it is a diversion of funds that might otherwise be spent on perfectly useful and useable weapons and troops. But some people have not caught up with this reality.”