On 21st June governments and civil society representatives from across the globe assemble in Vienna for the first meeting of State Parties of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The event will see the gathering of State representatives (Ministers and Diplomats) alongside city …
nuclear weapons
“We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.”
On Monday, Russia, United States, China, UK and France came together to state that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. The ‘Reagan Gorbachev principle’, as it has become known, may seem to be a fairly obvious truth. But this is the first time that these five nuclear weapons …
Counting the nuclear weapons money
A massive $1 trillion is being spent to maintain and modernize the nuclear arsenals of nine countries over the next 10 years. A trillion dollars is a difficult sum of money to imagine. The figure is a 1 with 12 zeros after it. To draw attention to this phenomenal spending on nuclear weapons, a group …
50 Years of Continuous At Sea Deterrence: What is there to celebrate?
This month marks 50 years of our nuclear weapons submarines sailing out of Faslane, Scotland. Powered by silent nuclear reactors, the submarines are designed to be undetectable. The Ministry of Defence wants a national celebration of the undoubted technical achievements of our Continuous At Sea …
“Dangerous and unnecessary” – On Hiroshima Day we highlight the Church of England’s new thinking on nuclear weapons
At a ceremony in Hiroshima this morning the Mayor of Hiroshima, Mr Kazumi Matsui, described the hellish scene of the blast that morning 73 years ago. Recounting the agony of the victims, he told the audience to listen "as if you and your loved ones were there." Sadly the possession of nuclear …
Could Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un establish a relationship of trust?
The Trump/Kim summit due to take place in Singapore on Tuesday 12 June is a meeting of historic significance. There has never been a face-to-face meeting between a sitting US President and a leader of the North Korea (DPRK). If all goes well, we might see a plan for the de-escalation of …
Being peacemakers in a nuclear age
Nuclear weapons have been back in the news again. In the final few days before his inauguration, President Trump appeared first to challenge Russia to an arms race before then using nuclear weapons as bargaining chips in the ongoing debate over sanctions against Russia. In a climate where there is …
Admiral West’s Offer to MPs
MPs are frustrated with the UK Government’s “stupid”[ref]Admiral Lord Alan West in evidence to the Defence Committee, Tuesday 24 January[/ref] secrecy over the failure of the UK’s Trident missile test in June 2016. Admiral Lord West, who previously had responsibility for the …