by Keith Richmond
Gordon Brown has told the United Nations Security Council that Britain is willing to build just three, rather than the planned four, Trident nuclear missile carrying submarines as a new report reveals that the escalating cost of replacing the system is now a staggering £97 billion.
A new report, called In The Firing Line, published by Greenpeace on the eve of the Labour Party conference, concludes: “The headline figure, the one the Government is willing to tell us, is a sizeable £15-£20 billion, but in fact this only covers the costs of new submarines, warheads and some building work at military bases.
“Annual running costs of more than £2 billion over new Trident’s planned 30 year lifespan have been excluded, as have hidden costs like those for the missiles on which the warheads fly, and the military escorts which accompany Trident while it’s out to sea. Once these are factored in, we won’t be getting much change from £100 billion.”
The report, with a foreword by former Shadow Defence Secretary Michael Ancram, prompted Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable to say it “supports claims that MoD equipment plans are totally unrealistic in the light of Britain’s serious budgetary constraints.”
The report – and Mr Brown’s offer – comes as Barack Obama appears ready to slim down America’s nuclear arsenal and political parties here in Britain manoeuvre over where spending cuts will fall after the general election next year.
