Warhead Alert!

The Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation initiated the following letter in response to the UK government’s warhead announcement. The letter was sent to Josep Borrel, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Stefano Sannino, Secretary General of the European Union External Action Service; Marjolijn Van Deelen, Head of Disarmament Policy at EEAS; David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament and to other politicians engaged in EU foreign policy. We will publish any responses in future.

From END Info 23 available here

Capture.JPG

18/03/2021

Dear ....,

If 180 warheads are sufficient to cause a world-ending nuclear winter and achieve the worst nightmare that any environmentalist could ever imagine, why would the UK need 260? The answer is to persuade the US not to delay or postpone the joint W93 warhead programme on which the UK’s ‘independent’ Trident missile submarines are totally dependent. The artificial justification is a thinly veiled suggestion that China - whose policy for nuclear weapons is significantly less aggressive than UK’s - might pose a nuclear threat. The UK’s expanding nuclear warhead programme undermines the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty at a time when the European Union and others are urging renewed compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran. We repudiate this regressive move by the UK and urge proper compliance with the NPT and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Yours sincerely,

Signatories:

Commander Robert Forsyth RN (Ret’d) 2nd in Command Polaris submarine, commanded two other submarines and the Commanding Officer’s Qualifying Course

Commander Rob Green Former nuclear-armed aircraft bombardier-navigator

Denis Halliday Former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ireland

Julie Ward MEP 2014-2020, UK

Marian Pallister Chair, Pax Christi Scotland

Jeremy Lester Clerk (Chair) Quaker Council for European Affairs & Chair, Saferworld Europe

Ludo De Brabander Vrede vzw, Belgium

Reiner Braun Executive Director, International Peace Bureau, Germany

Colin Archer Secretary-General, International Peace Bureau (retired)

Professor Stuart Holland University of Coimbra, Portugal

Professor Steven Rose Emeritus Professor of Neuroscience, Open University, UK

Professor Andreas Bieler School of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Axel Ruppert Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung, Brussels Office

Carol Turner Co-Chair Labour CND

Earl Turcotte Chair, Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Canada

Tony Simpson & Tom Unterrainer Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation

Rae Street & Pat Sanchez Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group, UK

TJ Milburn Chair, Exeter CND, UK

Christine Bousfield UK

Christopher Butler UK

Ulla Grant UK

Ian Hewitt UK

Till Geiger UK

Brian Winters USA