For Argyll

Pressure from Members of Parliament has forced the UK Government to reveal that £12.7 bn has been spent on nuclear weapons in the last ten years and £5.8bn is committed over the next three. Faslane on Argyll’s Clyde shores is the UK’s base for Trident nuclear submarines, serviced by nearby depots like Coulport.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is building new up-to-the-minute facilities at what are described as ‘nuclear bomb factories’ at Aldermaston and at Burghfield in Berkshire. For Argyll has recently drawn attention to the worrying safety record at Burghfield which led to the plant being shut down at the end of last year. It remains closed pending the righting of a significant number of specific faults which it has neglected to address for some time, despite having been instructed to do so. Its current closure is causing warheads to be stockpiled in greater than usual numbers at Coulport on Loch Long. Those due for servicing cannot be moved out because Burghfield is unable to take them and submarines decant additional warheads on return to port - up to forty-eight at a time.

Regardless of concerns about Burghfield being given an extended role, given its performance record, the MOD insists that the £18.5 bn allocated to nuclear weapons is being well spent and not at the expense of the conventional firepower needed by the armed forces.