According to a report on last night’s BBC Newsnight, the British government is intensely concerned over the timetable and future of the W93 warhead programme which it wants for the Trident replacement programme; the report shows that the British government has conducted a lobbying campaign in the US capital.
This follows on from the election of the Democratic administration, some of whose members are sceptical about the $19 billion nuclear modernisation programme, of which the W93 warhead is a part.
Adam Smith, Chair of the House of Representative Armed Services Committee told Newsnight that in terms of Congress being lobbied to agree the hasty delivery of the W93, ‘I think the UK is pushing a lot of that’.
Kate Hudson, CND General Secretary said:
‘Senator Bernie Sanders is right to say that “every gun that is made, every warship that is launched, every rocket signifies…a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed”.
The US taxpayer’s money which will fund this programme would be much better spent meeting the real security needs of the American people – dealing with the pandemic and addressing climate change. The new Biden administration must move away from the escalatory nuclear policies of its predecessor, Donald Trump, and should not give in to British pressure to produce new nuclear warheads.
Boris Johnson should instruct British diplomats to stop meddling in the work of Congress. This is further evidence that the much-vaunted independence of Trident is a myth.
It’s time to stand down Trident, cancel the replacement and focus on a sustainable regeneration of our economy and industry.’