The Main Gate decision on the construction of a new fleet of nuclear ballistic missile submarines at a capital cost of £20-25bn is expected early 2016. This Memo to the Prime Minster clarifies that there will in fact be a range of options available when a decision is to be made including the commissioning of four, three or two Successor submarines, further delay in the programme or a decision to begin the process of divesting the UK of its nuclear arsenal.
Publication
If we want a nuclear weapons free world then we need to change the rules of the game
Representatives from China, France, Russia, the US and UK (the five official nuclear weapon states under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty), convened in London last week for a meeting of the so-called ‘P5 process’.
The “P5 Process” History and What to Expect in 2015
The United Kingdom will play host to the “P5 Process” meeting with the United States, China, Russia, and France on February 4-5th to discuss obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Trident – UK’s Instruments of Armageddon
In Dissident Voice, Jim McCluskey wrote about Trident, citing BASIC's Trident Commission report.
Read the full article here: http://dissidentvoice.org/2015/01/trident-uks-instruments-of-armageddon/
Trident: Parliament debates £100bn project – at last
Ewan Macaskill and Richard Norton-Taylor wrote an article in The Guardian about the Trident debate, citing BASIC's Trident Commission report which called the UK's nuclear deterrent “a hostage to American goodwil.”
Read the full article here: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/defence-and-security-blog/2015/jan/20/trident-uk-s-nuclear-arsenal-commons-debate
Toward the 2015 NPT Review Conference: Attitudes and Expectations of Member States in the Middle East
What might happen if States Parties from one of the most volatile regions in the world were to reconsider their membership of the principle international treaty that controls the deadliest weapons on Earth? Almost 20 years since the indefinite extension of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), members of the Arab League have threatened to reconsider their position toward that extension on the basis that there has been no progress on the 1995 resolution associated with establishing a Middle East Zone free from weapons of mass destruction.
WMD-Free Zone in the Middle East
This factsheet outlines various facets of the proposals and attempts to establish a WMD-free zone…
Response to the Trident Commission Concluding Report
The Commission’s concluding report, published on 1 July 2014, is intended to inform a more considered debate over Britain’s nuclear weapon policy focused on national security, mindful of the politics and the strategic and diplomatic context. This is a direct response to the report and represents the views of the author. BASIC publishes it here as part of an ongoing discussion.