Seven Greenpeace boats have blockaded the Trident nuclear weapons submarine base at Faslane in Scotland as Labour MPs prepare to board one of the nuclear armed vessels and set sail in a government PR push.
At the same time Tony Blair is further ratcheting up international tension by supporting Bush's proposed Star Wars system that will lead to a new arms race.
This morning the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise out-manoeuvred MoD ships and is now anchored across the entrance to the base. Meanwhile six smaller blocking boats have dropped off Greenpeace volunteers in canoes who are attempting to scale HMS Vigilant, one of the UK's four Vanguard nuclear weapons subs berthed at Faslane.
The Greenpeace boats will attempt to hold their position and prevent Labour MPs from setting sail on board the Vigilant in a government sponsored PR voyage. Campaigners aboard the Arctic Sunrise are inviting the MPs to instead come aboard the Greenpeace ship to learn about the real threats facing the world such as climate change, and how the billions earmarked for Trident could instead be used to develop a low-carbon economy. The stand-off is now underway at the base.
An email acquired by Greenpeace, from the Parliamentary aide of Defence Secretary Des Browne to MPs, reads: "Colleagues may be interested to know that there is an opportunity to visit the Faslane naval base and sail on a Vanguard submarine from Friday 23rd February (base visit) and until Saturday 24th February (sailing)."
Tony Blair is on the verge of pushing proposals through Parliament to spend &76 billion on the building and servicing of a new generation of nuclear weapons. A Westminster vote on Trident is expected within a few weeks. Tomorrow will see massive demonstrations against Trident in London and Glasgow.
Louise Edge, Greenpeace campaigner on board the Arctic Sunrise, said: "We're blockading the base because these nuclear arms submarines pose a threat to the security of the world, not least by encouraging other countries to go nuclear in the future. The Labour MPs who have been invited to Faslane should abandon their Trident jolly and come on board the Sunrise and hear the truth about weapons of mass destruction.
"Tony Blair is playing a dangerous game by saying to countries like North Korea that nuclear weapons are necessary for national defence, that the UK doesn't care about its international legal obligations, and that nuclear proliferation is the way forward. He is sending a message to the world that might be welcomed in the capital of North Korea but will be widely condemned by people who want to end nuclear proliferation."
Polling commissioned by Greenpeace and released today shows that 78 per cent of people in Gordon Brown's and Douglas Alexander's constituencies think it's wrong to spend up to &76 billion on a replacement for Trident. 45 per cent of respondents said they would not continue to support the party they voted for in the last election if that party supported plans to replace Trident. Scotland, home to the UK's nuclear weapons, has no independent say as to whether the Trident system is renewed.
Greenpeace is appealing to MPs in the forthcoming Commons vote, expected mid-March, to listen to their constituents. Louise Edge continued: "We need to make the world a safer, not more dangerous place. That means showing a lead by marginalising nuclear weapons. The tens of billions of pounds Blair wants to spend on these terrifying weapons of mass destruction could instead make our country the world leader in fighting climate change."
Greenpeace wants to see the UK's Trident submarine taken off patrol and their warheads stored in an internationally monitored site.
The campaign to rid the world of nuclear weapons has received support across the political spectrum.
Kofi Annan says of Tony Blair's policy: "They should not imagine that this will be accepted as compatible with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty."
Former shadow Defence Secretary Michael Ancram says: "The threat of using nuclear weapons is not only illogical but incredible... the need for genuinely independent alternative and flexible non-nuclear deterrence is if anything greater."
Professor Stephen Hawking says: "To replace Trident would make it more difficult to get arms reduction. It would also be a waste of money because there are no circumstances in which we would use it independently."
The UN's nuclear watchdog Mohammed El-Baradei said earlier this week that Britain cannot "modernise its Trident submarines and then tell everyone else that nuclear weapons are not needed in the future". He added: "We need to treat nuclear weapons the way we treat slavery or genocide. There needs to be a taboo over possessing them."
Greenpeace was born in 1971 when campaigners chartered a boat and sailed into a test site off Alaska where President Nixon was preparing to explode a nuclear weapon in the atmosphere. The Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior was this week refused entry into Iran where its crew intended to campaign for a nuclear free Middle East.
Onboard the flotilla of boats blockading Faslane are campaigners from Scotland, England, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Russia, Hungary, Canada, Holland, Colombia, Italy, India, France and Germany.
ENDS
For more call Greenpeace on 07867 647041 or 07796 947452 or 07939 245864 or 020 7865 8255
Ship sat phone +871 3244 53810
Photo and video of blockade available
Notes: detailed polling was undertaken by Edinburgh-based 2Collaborate Research. The company polled 460 individuals in just these two constituencies. The average number of people questioned for a national Scottish poll is 1000 over 59 constituencies. Gordon Brown's constituency is Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath. Douglas Alexander, Minister for Scotland, represents the constituency of Paisley and Renfrewshire South. Full polling results are available from the Greenpeace press office.
