Inside AWE Aldermaston: We meet defence secretary John Healey as Britain renews its nuclear deterrent

Defence secretary John Healey visited AWE Aldermaston yesterday (Thursday) after the Government committed to renew Britain’s nuclear deterrent.

The Government has announced a £15bn investment to expand the nation’s replacement nuclear warhead programme at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in Aldermaston and Burghfield, due to be completed by the 2030s.

Newburytoday was granted rare access to AWE Aldermaston during his visit, the first time media have been allowed on to the site in more than 10 years.

A major demolition programme is currently under way to replace much of the Cold War era infrastructure with a £600m facility known as the HUB, creating access to new laboratories, offices and lecture halls.

Mr Healey, the first defence secretary to visit since 2018, said: “Our commitment to nuclear deterrent is total.

“For 75 years, generations of the most skilled workers in the world have helped guarantee this nation's ultimate security, and that of our NATO allies.

“The investment this Government is making for the security of tomorrow and beyond is fundamental to the safety of our people.”

When questioned about West Berkshire residents living around AWE being invited to sign up to emergency text alerts, Mr Healey assured us this was a “fairly routine technology upgrade”.

And asked whether he thought the site’s expansion risked making the district more of a target for foreign aggressors, he added: “In terms of the security of the site, you can see how secure it is.

“And in many ways, this is producing the deterrent for us all, including yourself.”

MP for Reading and Mid Berkshire Olivia Bailey said after the visit: “Safety is hardwired through everything AWE does.

“It’s been great to see ordinary people doing amazing jobs, developing amazing skills and keeping our country safe.

“I think people around here are really proud of AWE.

“So many locals work here, and it brings a huge amount of growth and investment into our area.”

AWE currently employs 9,500 scientists and engineers. Most are based at Aldermaston and Burghfield.

It is the only organisation in the UK that provides nuclear weapons.

Over the last year, AWE has created 1,500 roles and doubled its number of apprentices and graduates at Aldermaston.

The Aldermaston site is responsible for building components for nuclear warheads, containing weapons grade uranium and plutonium.

These are stored in secure vaults until they are called for assembly at AWE Burghfield.

From there, they are taken to the Royal Naval Armaments Depot in Coulport, Scotland, where they are fitted on to the missiles of submarines.

AWE is not allowed to test nuclear weapons under The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty signed in 1996, which bans all nuclear test explosions.

Its other defence work includes AWE Blacknest, based in Brimpton, which analyses seismic shifts to distinguish underground nuclear explosions from those generated by earthquakes.