4 December 2006 - Plans to replace Trident with a ‘scaled down’ nuclear arsenal will still place the UK in breach of international law, cost billions – and threaten British security, Green Party Euro-MP Caroline Lucas has warned.

“Blair’s proposal to replace Trident but cut the number of warheads from 200 to 160 will still break international law, threaten security and cost billions,” said Dr Lucas, co-founder and co-president of the European Parliament’s cross-party Peace Initiatives Intergroup and a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament’s decision-making national council.

“It indicates the strength of opposition he faces – both in parliament and with the public – but it will make little practical difference,” she added.

“Having three nuclear submarines instead of four will leave us with a capacity 1280 times that which devastated Hiroshima instead of 1600, and it will still put the UK in breach of international law, exacerbate the risk of the global spread of nuclear weapons – and offer no useful protection against the top two security threats we face: international terrorism and climate change.

“There is simply no legal, moral, military or economic case for the Government to replace Trident. If the Government has billions to spend on protecting security, it shouldn’t gamble it on chasing Cold War shadows but listen to its own advisors and instead use the cash to tackle the real security threats we face today: terrorism and climate change.”

Tony Blair is today expected to announce that the government will replace Britain ’s nuclear weapons arsenal – but reduce its size by 20 per cent.

Publishing the long-awaited white paper on nuclear defence, the prime minister will say that Trident submarines will carry closer to 160 warheads than the current 200.

A legal opinion from Matrix Chambers – Cherie Booth’s legal firm – reasoned any replacement of Trident would put the UK in breach of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which requires nuclear states to disarm and not build new nuclear weapons, and at odds with an International Court of Justice ruling in 1996 which judged the use of nuclear weapons to be contrary to the United Nations Charter.

Dr Lucas, who represents the South-East England region which houses the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Berkshire – Britain ’s nuclear weapons factory – has also signed a petition hosted by Tony Blair’s own website calling for Trident to be scrapped.

A demonstration of anti-nuclear campaigners and Green Party members will take place outside the House of Commons at 4.30pm today (Monday), when Tony Blair is expected to be explaining his position to MPs inside.

ENDS

The petition calling on the Government not to replace Trident