CND Press Digest: Friday 1st December 2023

War In Ukraine/NATO

• IAEA: dangers around Ukraine’s nuclear power plants are multiplying.
• Russia has stockpiled missiles for winter attack on Ukraine’s heating and power infrastructure, says NATO’s Jens Stoltenberg.
• That’s as David Cameron told  the NATO meeting that the bloc can outlast Russia in Ukraine. The Telegraph understands that the former UK PM – who resigned following the UK’s vote to leave the EU – told a private session that NATO allies must use their combined economic might to ramp up weapon production in order to outlast Russia.
• Meanwhile, Cameron’s return to politics and antics abroad has the Westminster rumour mill churning – with suggestions that he could be looking to replace Stoltenberg in the NATO top job. Poor Ben Wallace. https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/commons-confidential/2023/11/nato-chief-lord-david-cameron?lin…
• UK government: Seven UK companies have been selected to take part in NATO’s pilot challenges providing the opportunity to refine their products and keep NATO populations safe.

TPNW

• Second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW opens with focus on the humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons.
• UK and France urged to join treaty banning nuclear weapons.
• Palestine: Gazans ‘terrified’ by recent nuclear threat, will TPNW states respond?

Nuclear Testing

• More than 100 documents about blood and urine tests of British nuclear test veterans which the MoD previously denied existed will be reviewed, Parliament has been told.
• Guernsey men awarded Nuclear Test Medal for Pacific service.

AUKUS

• Foreign Policy takes stock of developments with the AUKUS pact.

AI

• Kate Hudson speaks to the Morning Star on a Lords committee report into the development of military AI. The report found that the UK government’s pledges to act “responsibly” in developing AI weapons have fallen short of reality.

Nuclear Weapons

• Watch: President Biden jokes about nuclear football: ‘It has the codes to blow up the world’.

UK Nuclear Energy

• The Telegraph: The mayor of Tees Valley is on the cusp of striking a deal with a US nuclear power company to build small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) in northeast England. Lord Houchen is poised to sign an agreement with Westinghouse to allow the manufacturer to develop four mini-nukes near the mouth of the River Tees, close to the existing Hartlepool nuclear power station.
• The Telegraph also reports on this rather unhinged idea from The Adam Smith Institute: Nuclear waste should be used to heat homes as part of the drive for net zero, ministers have been told. The think tank is urging the Government to draw on these reserves as a source of clean energy, while liberalising the “sclerotic” planning system to accelerate Britain’s nuclear development.
• A major setback in the roll out of mini nuclear power plants in the US has raised concern over the UK’s own bid to introduce the technology, whose developers include Rolls-Royce.
• A letter to the National defending the SNP’s stance against nuclear power after a week where the policy came under attack from the Tories.

Nuclear Energy

• Closer to nuclear plant than ever, latest Korean quake renews calls to retire aging reactors.

COPout28

• UN atomic chief backs nuclear power at COP28 as world reckons with proliferation.

Henry Kissinger

• The Morning Star’s obituary to Henry Kissinger written by Andrew Murray. https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/kissinger-a-war-criminal-who-served-us-imperialism?link_id…

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament