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Trident replacement edges closer
Fri, November 24 2006

AWE in the frame as it is announced that MPs will vote on replacing Britain's nuclear deterrent
 

PLANS to replace Trident, Britain’s nuclear deterrent, have taken another step forward.
MPs will vote early next year on whether it should be replaced, with Aldermaston’s Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in the frame to host construction of the system should it be given the green light.
AWE’s Orion laser project could play a key role in the development of a new deterrent.
Ministers will make their proposals in a white paper, which will be published next month. A three-month consultation on the plans will precede the vote.
The move may spark fears among anti-nuclear protestors, who have maintained that AWE would be used to create the next generation of nuclear weapons.
Newbury MP Richard Benyon, who quizzed Tony Blair over the matter at Prime Minister’s Questions earlier this year, said he was “delighted” that a vote will take place.
He said: “I’m pleased it’s going to be debated, and I encourage people to recognise we need a system in place that will tackle the threats of 2020 to 2030.
“If other countries continue to have weapons then we need a deterrent. We don’t want

 

I’m pleased it’s going to be debated and I encourage people to recognise we need a system in place that will tackle the threats of 2020 to 2030

MP Richard Benyon
to have to rely on the United States.”
Mr Benyon said he felt that the programme “wouldn’t mean great changes” at AWE.
However, he added that shutting down all nuclear weapons activity would hit West Berkshire hard.
He said: “If parliament voted to scrap the deterrent then that would have serious consequences for our biggest local employer.
“But that’s not the reason I’m taking this stand.”
Mr Benyon called protestors who hold regular gatherings outside AWE “misguided”, stating that they will be “proved wrong”.
Di McDonald, of pro-disarmament group the Nuclear Information Service, said the three-month consultation period “isn’t long enough given the seriousness of the decision”.
“This is a real subject for debate. It’s being rushed through and being driven by industry,” she said.
“During the Defence Select Committee meeting, it was argued that nuclear weapons are necessary to preserve jobs. That can’t be right.
“People like the Environment Agency should be consulted.”
Both Tony Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown favour retaining an independent nuclear deterrent.

 
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