CND's Press Round-Up - 23rd March 2021
Posted: 23rd March 2021
Please find today’s press round up below. A continued thanks to all for your help and support.
Nuclear Weapons
UK Warhead Cap Increase
The Financial Times carries a report on the rationale the Government is setting out for the decision to lift the cap on the number of nuclear warheads. Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, told the BBC in an interview on Sunday that maintaining a credible deterrent meant the government had to “reflect and review what the Russians and others have been up to. In the past few years we have seen Russia invest strongly in ballistic missile defence . They have planned and deployed new capabilities and that means if we are going to remain credible, it has to do the job”.
Anti-War
Integrated Review
Chief Marshall Mike Wigston, the head of the Air Force, has an op-ed in today’s Independent, in which he argues that the Integrated Review represents a ‘ a once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernise the UK armed forces’, made possible by the £24 billion spending increase. In particular, he sets out his belief that the UK’s armed forces will pioneer a new form of aerial warfare which will mix ‘swarming’ drones with ‘formations of uncrewed and next-generation piloted aircraft’.
War in Yemen
Aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition pursuing the war in Yemen conducted airstrikes last night against Houthi forces advancing towards the city of Marib, according to Voice of America. The Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir is also quoted as saying that the drones shot down following Houthi attacks on oil facilities were produced in Iran.
In related news, Al Jazeera reports that the Houthi leadership has said that Saudi proposals for ceasefire represent ‘nothing new’ and called for a total end to the blockade on Sana’a airport and the port of Hodeidah.
U.S. Military Spending
The U.S. political blog The Hill features a piece on disputes between and within the U.S. political parties over the question of an increase in defence spending.It is expected that President Joe Biden will ask for an ‘essentially flat’ defence budget of c.$704-708 billion. A letter sent last week signed by fifty Democratic members of the House of Representatives called on President Biden to cut the defence budget.
Nuclear Power
Nuclear Power-UK
The Independent carries a report examining the potential impact of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant on local marine life. The Hinkley Point C Stakeholder Reference Group, an independent expert panel advising the Welsh Government, has said that 182 million fish a year could be suck into the plant’s cooling system. EDF Energy is currently disputing the previously agreed requirement upon it to install an acoustic fish deterrent. The Severn estuary is ostensibly one of the most highly protected ecosystems in the country.
The recommendation comes as the New Civil Engineer reports that, due to the ongoing pandemic, the cost of Hinkley Point C has risen by half a billion pounds and its start of operation date has been moved to June 2026, a six month delay. This is in spite of the fact that the number of workers onsite has been allowed to increase from below 2,000 at the start of the pandemic to 5,000 now.
With best wishes,
Michael Muir
Press and Communications Officer
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament