March 16, 2006 :: London Guardian :: News
Richard Norton-Taylor, writing in The Guardian, discusses the politics surrounding the debate over whether Britain should replace its Trident missile system. The British government has promised an “open debate” on the issue, yet has rejected requests under the Freedom of Information Act to disclose studies on the costs involved. It has also argued that it is not in the public interest to publish official assessments about what threats the Trident missiles could deter. To complicate matters, the Ministry of Defense is currently refusing to appear before a Commons inquiry into the matter.
Sir Michael Quinlan, a former permanent secretary at the MoD in the 1980s and 1990s, recently appeared before the Commons Defense Committee, stating his view that the cost of maintaining the Trident missiles was “simply too much to pay.” However, Quinlin noted that it would be “very difficult” politically for any government to abandon Britain’s nuclear weapons as long as France had them. “To leave the French as the only people with this, I think, would twitch a lot of very fundamental historical nerves,” he said. (Article)
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