The former Labour defence secretary, Lord Des Browne, is now questioning the viability of Trident subs. How a new British Trident fleet, which will not be operational until the 2030s, would deter Russia has not been explained.Ĭoncerns have been expressed about the vulnerability of large submarines from underwater drone technology and sensors. While Labour enthusiasts for Trident cite jobs and dwell on the UK “status” argument, Fallon and the nuclear lobby speak of Putin’s dangerous, resurgent, Russia. ![]() But would not many of those skilled jobs still be needed to maintain and then decommission, those nuclear-powered and nuclear armed Trident subs?Ĭould not the skilled labour be deployed elsewhere, not least in building new, much-needed, civil nuclear reactors, or other boats for the navy? The government has now spent close on £4bn on the submarine replacement programme whose total cost is now officially estimated to cost £31bn, excluding a £10bn contingency fund.įallon is likely to accuse Labour - and the SNP - of jeopardising national security and thousands of skilled jobs. He will trumpet his announcement on Thursday confirming my colleague Ewen MacAskill’s story in Thursday’s Guardian, that the government has agreed to spend another £642m to replace the existing Trident nuclear submarine fleet, a move which is clearly a further attempt to pre-empt a Commons vote on whether to go ahead with the project. Michael Fallon, the defence secretary who seems to relish his role as chief government attack man, will be at it again on Friday when he addresses the Scottish Tory party conference.
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