8 July 2006 - On July 10th Caroline Lucas, Green Party MEP for South East England, will join protestors, including CND Chair Kate Hudson, at a blockade of the Ministry of Defence site at Aldermaston, Berkshire.

The blockaders aim is to halt work on the construction of new weapons-related facilities at the site. Dr Lucas, who has previously called on for a public inquiry into plans for the massive expansion of the Aldermaston nukes factory, said: "The proposed new facilities at AWE threaten world peace and international law.

"They also undermine local democracy – and we must have a public inquiry to debate the issues in public before another brick is laid. A decision about replacing Trident is due at the end of the year, but the fact that work is already underway at AWE to build a new laser facility suggests Tony Blair has already given the green light to a new generation of immoral and illegal nuclear weapons."

Documents obtained recently from the MoD under the Freedom of Information Act confirm that Aldermaston-based warhead convoys are vulnerable to accidental detonation (1) and we will continue to peacefully disrupt work at Aldermaston until the government calls a halt to its plans.

The blockaders will gather at the Tadley Gate entrance to Aldermaston at 7am on Monday morning, ahead of construction workers and deliveries of building materials. The action is being co-ordinated by Block the Builders, who have been collecting pledges from individuals across the UK that are opposed to further development of the UK’s nuclear capacity.

Dr Lucas, a member of the national council of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and co-founder and co-president of the European Parliament’s cross-party group on peace initiatives, continued:

"Already this month we have seen North Korea test a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead  a considerable distance across the world. The UK government has condemned this test, yet blithely insists on breaching its own obligations under the international nuclear proliferation treaty - this smacks of double standards and hypocrisy."

The new facilities at AWE also undermine the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (signed and ratified by the UK, but not yet in force), as they would enable research on nuclear weapons to continue without underground testing.

ENDS

Note to Editors

(1) In January 2005 the MoD prepared a report looking at the risks associated with the transportation of nuclear warheads - the declassified summary is entitled "Operational Safety Case for Transport of Nuclear Weapons". The MoD report confirm that a "large" accident could trigger the partial detonation of warheads on board.

The convoys, which travel between AWEs Aldermaston and Burghfield in Berkshire and RNAD Coulport in western Scotland, are a necessary,  but little-known, aspect of  Trident’s deployment. Without regular checks and maintenance (and of course, their initial delivery after production), Trident would not be operationally safe. To do this, warheads are regularly transported from one end of the country to the other, passing close to major centres of population.

Previously based at RAF Wittering, and with security provided the MoD police’s Special Escort Group, the convoys are now based at AWE Aldermaston.

Commenting on the MoD report, a member of nonviolent direct action group Block the Builders said, "A new generation of nuclear weapons would mean hundreds more nuclear convoys for decades to come. We’ve always known of the dangers, and that’s another good reason for stopping another generation of nuclear weapons from being built".

Block the Builders