CND News

 

1.  The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament today welcomed the announcement by

a Pentagon official that interceptor missiles for the US 'Son of Star Wars' missile defence system will not be sited in the UK, according to the Scottish Herald newspaper. The official cited the strong domestic opposition to the ongoing occupation of Iraq as a primary reason for this decision.

 

Kate Hudson, Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said, "This is a strong indication of the growing power of peace campaigning in the UK, especially as it comes together with the news that RAF Fairford is ruled out of a role in any possible attack on Iran for the same reason.

This is a victory for peace and democracy. The majority of the British people want no part in these preparations for further militarisation and war."

 

[There can be little doubt that the pressure to stop these US missiles from being based in Britain has come only from ground-level protest.  At British government level requests from the US military are treated as orders.  H D ]

 

2.  CND Chair Kate Hudson will take part in a high-profile visit to the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston, where Britain’s nuclear weapons are designed and built, along with Scottish Church leaders, MSPs, and others. The delegation, which includes a former Lord Advocate and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, has requested a meeting with senior Aldermaston scientists to discuss concerns that they are already in the process of designing new nuclear weapons, despite government claims that no decision on Trident replacement has yet been made.

She said, “Particularly at a time when the international community is attempting to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, it is an extreme double standard for Britain to continue expanding its own nuclear weapons programme.”

Whether inside or outside the AWE fence, the delegation will tour the site, where developments on the scale of Heathrow’s Terminal 5 expansion strongly suggest new nuclear weapons are already under development. These include:

(1) Government investment of £1 billion in Aldermaston AWE over the next three years, including hiring over 1000 new scientists and engineers

(2) Plans to build the ORION laser at a cost of at least £100 million

(3) Development of new ‘super-computers’ which are capable of simulating nuclear tests and designing new weapons. These will increase the facility’s computing power by a factor of 900.

(4) Plans to build new hydrodynamics test facilities, as well as tritium and highly-enriched uranium plants

(5) Plans for recruitment of 80 new specialist scientists and advertising for staff to join the ‘warhead development centre’

Following the fact-finding visit, the delegation will travel to the House of Commons to meet Hans Blix, who will present the new UN Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Commission report to MPs and the media. The report recommends that nuclear weapons be outlawed completely and highlights how important Britain’s decision whether or not to build a new generation of nuclear weapons is to the future of international nuclear disarmament.