LABOUR have insisted Britain will retain control over its nuclear weapons after concerns were raised about a new deal being negotiated with America.
The UK Government is reportedly in talks with the US to buy nuclear bombs which can be dropped from planes – which a top MP said would mark the country’s “most significant defence expansion since the Cold War”.
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, chair of the defence select committee, raised concerns about the developments, first reported in The Sunday Times, and said it raised “serious concerns about our sovereignty over nuclear weapons”.
His comments came as the Government prepared to publish its Strategic Defence Review, which was partially unveiled by Keir Starmer at a press conference in Glasgow, sparking a row with Speaker Lindsay Hoyle.
The Government faced steep criticism on Monday after leaking parts of the announcement to the media and calling a press conference before updating the House of Commons.
Singh Dhesi asked: “If the Government is indeed pursuing an air launch tactical nuclear capability, this is a huge deal and would represent a significant shift in the UK’s nuclear posture. Indeed, it would be the UK’s most significant defence expansion since the Cold War.
“It creates serious concerns about our sovereignty over nuclear weapons, strategic coherence with our current doctrine and the principle of continuous at-sea deterrence.”
The Slough MP noted that nuclear weapons ate up around 20% of the defence budget but remained effectively outside of parliamentary scrutiny.
He added: “Can the minister confirm that the UK will retain full operational control over any nuclear weapons?”
Singh Dhesi said that “tactical weapons lower the threshold for use”, adding: “What assessment has been made of the risks of escalation, can the minister confirm that only the Prime Minister would have authority to use them and only in extreme self-defence?”
Defence minister Luke Pollard (above) said: “When it comes to the continuous at sea nuclear deterrent, the backbone of our national security, we retain full operational control of our independent nuclear deterrent.
“Certainly it’s the first duty of any government to keep our country safe and the nuclear deterrent is our ultimate guarantor of our national security and safety, and I can confirm that only the Prime Minister has the power to launch nuclear actions in this respect.”
But the Government has come under fire for the plans, with former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn saying the plans were incompatible with commitments made by Britain as a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
