If Scotland becomes independent in 2014, Trident will have nowhere to go.
This is the verdict from within the Ministry of Defence (MoD). It is also the conclusion of CND’s detailed report, based on government archives, into potential alternative sites for Trident.
An MoD source has confirmed that “there simply isn’t anywhere else where we can do what we do at Coulport [nuclear weapons storage], and without that, there is no deterrent.”
CND’s report analyses the MoD’s own archives from 1963 which considered sites for the Polaris nuclear weapons system. Documents which provided evidence for discounting potential locations are now being dusted off by the MoD in a frantic search for an alternative location to Trident’s current home, Faslane and Coulport in Scotland.
With options including a 2012 Olympic sailing venue, National Trust land and densely populated areas, “Trident is at a dead end”, said Kate Hudson, CND General Secretary.
“Trident is at a dead end, strategically and economically. Now we can add ‘geographically’ to the list too, as MoD sources have confirmed CND’s analysis: there ‘simply isn’t anywhere else’ for Trident to go.
The expenses incurred in replacing Trident are already snowballing. The additional costs and the difficulty of relocating Trident from Scotland should once and for all lay to rest any plans for Britain to waste well in excess of £100bn on a Cold War weapons system.
The MoD refuse to relate this enormous white elephant in their budget to the fact that they’ve just announced a further 3,000 personnel cuts: bringing the total so far to 58,000 job losses in the defence sector. Trident is not just a monstrous weapons system – it’s a job killer.
Given the serious concerns already raised over the strategic necessity of Britain retaining a nuclear weapons system, this should be the final nail in the coffin for Trident. The Government’s own National Security Strategy downgraded the risk of state-on-state nuclear attack to a Tier Two threat. Senior military figures say it’s useless. So why are we spending vast sums on it? At a time of the biggest public sector cuts in British history, the facts now speak for themselves: Trident has nowhere to go.”
Arthur West, Chair of Scottish CND, stated that “Scotland could make a major contribution to nuclear disarmament with international implications. Over the years nuclear weapons have been imposed on Scotland but now we have an opportunity to make a difference and to put an end to Weapons of Mass Destruction in Britain.”
‘Trident: Nowhere to Go’ is a joint publication by CND and Scottish CND; researched by John Ainslie. For copies of the report, see the following link: http://bit.ly/yKMw3y
For comment please contact:
John Ainslie, (Scottish CND) 0141 357 1529; 07788 738 887; john.ainslie@banthebomb.org
Luke Massey, (CND) 020 7700 2350; 07968 420 859; pressoffice@cnduk.org
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