A senior US defence official just visited RAF Lakenheath

US deputy defence secretary Kathleen Hicks toured “infrastructure improvements” at RAF Lakenheath on Tuesday, another major indication that the Suffolk airbase is being primed for the return of US nuclear weapons. Hicks will spend two more days in the UK, where she is expected to hold meetings with British counterparts.

Among the “infrastructure improvements” at Lakenheath are plans to build a 144-bed “surety dormitory” for US Air Force personnel. In US military terminology, the word “surety” is used to refer to the handling of nuclear weapons.

CND has already challenged the planning rights used for the dormitory – which so far has not received an environmental impact assessment ahead of its planned construction next year. We believe that the construction of buildings for the purpose of a nuclear weapons mission poses an outstanding environmental risk

Commenting on the visit to The Mirror, CND General Secretary Kate Hudson said:

“Kathleen Hicks’ visit to RAF Lakenheath is further proof that Washington intends to use Britain as a launch pad for its nuclear arsenal in Europe. The lack of transparency surrounding this deployment is shocking given how dangerous it is. Russia has already retaliated:  it has stationed its own nuclear weapons in Belarus in response. A YouGov poll found that almost two thirds of the British public don’t want US nuclear weapons stationed here. That’s not surprising – they will make us a nuclear target. CND calls on the UK government to say that US nuclear weapons are not welcome in Britain.”

Find out more about our No US nukes campaign here.