Anti-nuclear campaigners have responded to Gavin Williamson’s final instalment of the Modernising Defence Programme, released today.
Sara Medi Jones, CND acting general secretary, said:
“Gavin Williamson has called for an additional £340 million for the MoD in next year’s comprehensive spending review. The MoD has already been given an extra £1 billion this year, so this announcement confirms again that spending at the MoD is spiralling out of control.
“Mr Williamson rightly says that security challenges today are more complex, involving non-state actors, migration, pandemics and environmental pressures. So why then are we wasting over £205 billion replacing Trident, Britain’s nuclear weapons system, which addresses none of these?
“The truth is, replacing Trident is bankrupting the MoD. Scrapping the programme would help bring an end to these financial difficulties and allow more money to be invested in addressing the real security threats that Mr Williamson has raised.”