Nuclear weapons crime in the UK has been reported to Thames Valley Police.
STV 26 October 2015 08:49 GMT
A senior Tory MP has raised fresh questions about the renewal of the UK’s nuclear deterrent and says overall cost could reach £167bn.
Crispin Blunt, who chairs the Commons foreign affairs committee, said the “excessive” expenditure suggested it was time to pull the plug on the project.
Mr Blunt was told by a defence minister that the estimated cost of the replacement of the ageing submarine fleet, previously thought to be around £25bn was being “refreshed” as part of government spending reviews.
In a Commons written answer, minister of state for defence Philip Dunne confirmed that in-service costs were expected to swallow up 6% of the defence budget through to the 2060s.
Mr Blunt calculated that given the government’s commitment to meet a Nato target of devoting 2% of national wealth to defence, and assuming an annual GDP growth of 2.48% between 2020 and 2060, the cost of replacing Trident could spiral to £167bn.
“How much is too much? There has to be a point where this programme ceases to be value for money,” he said in a statement.
“I believe that this level of spending commitment is excessive as it will mean forgoing an effective conventional capability in order to maintain one weapons system that is unlikely ever to be used.
“This doesn’t even consider the inherent risk of concentrating our deterrent on one platform that I fear may be very visible to advanced sonar by 2050. If that happens the mistake will be even more costly.”
A Commons vote on whether to go ahead with the renewal is due within months.
Labour is split on the issue, with leader Jeremy Corbyn accused of undermining an internal debate by declaring last month that he would never use nuclear weapons use if he was Prime Minister.
Stewart Hosie, deputy leader of the anti-Trident Scottish National Party, said it was an “unthinkable and indefensible sum” to spend during a time of austerity.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman added: “In July 2013, the government published an unclassified version of the Trident alternatives review, which demonstrated that no alternative system is as capable, or as cost-effective, as a Trident-based deterrent.
“At around 6% of the annual defence budget, the in-service costs of the UK’s national deterrent which include the costs of the Atomic Weapons Establishment, basing and disposals, are affordable and represent an investment in a capability which plays an important role in ensuring the UK’s national security.”
Source: STV
