Blair reaffirms Trident support
Tony Blair has repeated his personal support for replacing Trident – but said MPs would have a vote on the question of Britain’s independent nuclear deterrent.
The prime minister also confirmed that a white paper setting out the options and costs for replacing the missile system, which will reach the end of its lifespan in about 20 years, would be published by Christmas.
He was speaking as the Catholic bishops of England and Wales urged the government not to replace Trident, saying nuclear weapons were so dangerous they should never be used.
“They’re so uniquely destructive and they can never be used, morally speaking, because they cannot be discreet enough simply to kill combatants,” Crispian Hollis, the bishop of Portsmouth, told Today.
The House of Commons defence committee is currently holding an investigation into Trident, and yesterday anti-nuclear campaigners warned that in replacing the missile system, Britain would be in breach of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
Bishop Hollis agreed, saying: “I think if we renew Trident now, we are actually upping the ante again and we’re saying we have this nuclear weapon, we’re going to renew it, it’s going to be with us for another 40 years.
“That does not contribute to the gradual disarmament, nuclear disarmament in the world, and total disarmament which is what we’re aiming for.”
Defence minister Lord Drayson told the defence committee yesterday that although no decision had been taken on Trident, civil servants were investigating all the possibilities and the results of their work would be in the white paper.
During prime minister’s questions today, Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell asked whether the Commons vote on Trident would be on “all the options available” and not just on whether Britain should still have a nuclear deterrent in principle.
Mr Blair replied: “I’m sure that there will be an opportunity to vote on the issue, of course there should be, but in the end I suspect this is going to be an issue, not so much of a process but of where we stand on a particular issue.
“I believe we should retain our independent nuclear deterrent.”
