CAMPAIGNERS urge PM Boris Johnson to rethink his nuclear weapons policy

Posted: 21st May 2021

CAMPAIGNERS have urged PM Boris Johnson to rethink his nuclear weapons
policy after legal experts found that plans to increase Britain’s arsenal
are in violation of international law. An expert legal opinion commissioned
by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) says that the proposed
increase in nuclear warheads is a violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty
(NPT). Earlier this year Mr Johnson faced heavy criticism after a defence
policy review proposed lifting the current cap on Trident’s nuclear
warheads by over 40 per cent – from 180 to 260 – despite years of work
towards disarmament. Experts from the London School of Economics and
Political Science, Professor Christine Chinkin and Dr Louise Arimatsu, have
now set out why they believe the move could breach international law. The
pair said that the government’s plans would breach Article VI of the NPT,
which commits signatories to pursuing “negotiations in good faith on
effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an
early date and to nuclear disarmament.”

Morning Star 18th May 2021

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/cnd-nuclear-weapons-legal-opinion