Greenpeace today accused the Government of steam-rollering the country into adopting a new generation of nuclear weapons after planning consent was given to a controversial new defence project.
Greenpeace believes the Orion laser, planned for the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Aldermaston, and other elements of the current £1 billion upgrade of Aldermaston's research and development facilities will be used to develop a new nuclear weapon - very possibly a new generation smaller, so-called 'battlefield' nuclear weapons that would be more likely to be used.
Last night West Berkshire council gave planning consent to the project, removing the last bureaucratic obstacle to construction of the laser.
Dr Dominic Jenkins, Greenpeace Senior Disarmament Campaigner, said:
"Defence Secretary John Reid promised a national debate on whether we should replace Trident, but by building the Orion Laser the Government will have made the decision already. By proceeding with plans for new nuclear weapons without even asking if we need them, or if the billions they will cost could better be spent on fighting terrorism, New Labour has put the cart before the horse."
Construction of the laser, which can recreate the conditions of a nuclear explosion, undercuts the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) - at a time when both these treaties are in peril. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has warned that the collapse of these treaties is possible - a development that would lead to the runaway proliferation of nuclear weapons and a new arms race.
It is almost certain that the Orion laser is part of preparing the Aldermaston site to design and build a new atomic bomb:
- In its 1998 Strategic Defence Review the Government stated that its development of a science-based program to give it the capacity to build a successor to Trident without nuclear testing was the "main driver" for the future development of the Aldermaston site.
- AWE annual reports and other statements have repeatedly placed the building of the new laser, acquisition of super-computers, and other developments at Aldermaston in the context of its retaining a capability to build a new atomic bomb.
- Former top American nuclear weapon designer physicist Seymour Sack has pointed out that there is no need for US nuclear weapons laboratories to build high-powered lasers if their only concern is to maintain the safety and reliability of existing nuclear warheads.
- The history of the Cheveline nuclear weapons program shows past prime ministers and AWE scientists have hidden previous development at Aldermaston from the public, from Members of Parliament and from members of the Cabinet.
- The scale of the development of Aldermaston, described by the AWE as "similar in scale to the Terminal 5 project at Heathrow," would involve the hiring of hundreds of new scientists and other staff, increased meetings with US scientists, the renewal of the Mutual Defence Agreement for technical cooperation, and the commitment of over a billion pounds during the next three years to the project. Such a development makes no sense if the sole intension is the maintenance of the existing arsenal. The Government has presented no evidence that these expenditures are needed to maintain Britain's existing nuclear weapons.
For more information contact Greenpeace on 0207 865 8255
