UK Ministry of Defence, MOD's replies to Greenpeace's requests for information in relation to the possible replacement of Trident have made clear that Ministers have not yet even begun to consider the potential ranges of options for replacing Trident at the end of its life-time.
Greenpeace had asked for information on:
–Studies on the costs of options to replace Trident or not
–Studies on the impact on UK foreign policy, economic policy, military policy
–What assessments have been made of potential threats
–What discussions have taken place with US officials, UK defence companies and overseas defence companies
–What studies have taken place on diversification measures to protect workers' jobs in the event that Trident is not replaced
–Other Government departments have faced similar, or in some cases identical, questions.
In most cases, MOD has claimed exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act in refusing to provide the information requested, on the grounds of damage to national security or to international relations, or prejudice to the effective conduct of public affairs.
The replies explain that
Kremlin says nuclear weapons in Finland would threaten Russia
Russia said on Friday it saw Finland's move to lift restrictions on hosting nuclear weapons as a potential threat and...
