Aldermaston Action (again)
Things concerning our Friendly Neighborhood Atomic weapons Establishment are hotting up.
During a recent dinner at the Mansion House (rather than, say, a session in parliament), Prime-Minister-to-be Gordon Brown announced that he will definitely look into options to replace Trident. So now at least it’s official, even though some MPs seemed to be taken by surprise. I suppose those are the ones that snooze through Parliamentary Questions.
Even more recently, a 2005 report released by the MoD under the new Freedom of Information Act ‘fessed up that a terrorist strike on a nuclear arms convoy might have rather more serious consequences than they previously realised admitted. Routes of these convoys are (attempted to be) kept secret, but they are not exactly invisible. And guess where the things end up? Yep, it’s put our little village firmly onto the terrorist radar.
Time for another blockade. Damn—yet another early start on a Monday morning.
PRESS RELEASE – for immediate release – 7 July 2006
(note: links have been inserted by me)
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Campaigners to blockade nuclear site as MoD confirm Aldermaston-based
warhead convoys are vulnerable to accidental detonation.
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This week the release of a 2005 MoD report under a Freedom of
Information Act request has confirmed what anti-nuclear campaigners have
long warned about – that Trident nuclear warhead convoys present a risk
to everyone living along the routes they take.
Next Monday – 10 July – anti-nuclear campaigners “Block the Builders”
will be returning to the Aldermaston site, where they intend blockading
the ongoing construction of new weapons-related facilities.
“The government is planning a new generation of nuclear weapons, and we
plan to stop them” a member of BtB stated today.
Tony Blair confirmed last week that a decision on replacing Trident will
be made by the end of the year, Given that work is underway on the new
Orion laser facility, massive financial investment in Aldermaston’s
infrastructure and the recruitment of new scientists, campaigners fear
that a decision on replacement has effectively already been made.
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”.
Background
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.
Denni