There has been widespread media coverage of reports that Prime Minister Gordon Brown will unveil plans to cut the number of Trident nuclear submarines from four to three, in line with President Barack Obama’s goal of eradicating the world of nuclear weapons.
The Prime Minister is determined that Britain will play a full part, including at the important UN meeting on Thursday 24 September 2009, in trying to find an international deal to move towards the long-term ambition, which we all share, of a world free of nuclear weapons.
The PM has always said that we should have the minimum deterrent necessary. As part of ‘the road to 2010’ non-proliferation process, the PM has made it clear that he wants to look in detail at whether it is possible to maintain the UK’s independent nuclear deterrent with three rather than four nuclear armed submarines when the next class of submarine enters service.
The PM’s aim is that from the mid 2020s we should meet our minimum deterrent requirements with three next-generation nuclear armed submarines, unless analysis demonstrates that this would be impossible.
He has asked for further work to be considered by the NSID cabinet sub-committee.
