CND Press Digest: Wednesday 11th September 2024

Nukes in Britain

• The National: Labour’s instinct is still to ‘get the Union flag’ on nuclear weapons.
• Dundee Courier: Rosyth dockyard boost as Labour promises to finally dismantle old nuclear subs. Newly appointed armed forces minister Luke Pollard said the Labour government were committed to the Fife yard’s future. Rosyth dockyard will be future-proofed with work dismantling decommissioned submarines and building the warships of the future, the UK’s new armed forces minister says. The Labour minister pointed to the opportunities of the future at the yard, re-committing the new government to a continued Ministry of Defence presence and ongoing work for the dockyard’s management contractor Babcock. The yard’s future has often become a political football since the independence referendum as the No campaign told Scots that tens of thousands of jobs could be lost if Scotland voted to leave the UK. Hundreds of jobs have been lost in the last decade regardless, leading to accusations of broken promises by the SNP. Around six decommissioned submarines are currently in dry dock in Rosyth, having arrived in 2007. A parliamentary committee criticised the slow rate of progress in 2018, and the work is now expected to be complete by 2035. Mr Pollard added: “There’s six old nuclear submarines that are stored in Rosyth. And as a responsible nuclear power we need to deal with those old nuclear submarines.

Global Nukes

• Financial Times: Letter from Leon V Sigal, Special Assistant to the Director, Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, US State Department 1979-80, on how Gorbachev and Reagan agreed the nuclear arms treaty.
• CounterPunch: Take a lesson from Paul Nitze: abolish nuclear weapons.
• National Interest: How the A-10 almost became a nuclear bomber. In 1975, the US Air Force considered the feasibility of arming the A-10 Warthog with nuclear weapons. This theoretical idea would have cost over $86 million in today’s dollars.

AI

• Times of India, Fortune, Metro and GZERO on the recent Responsible AI in the Military Domain Summit, where China omitted to sign up to a pledge adopted by 60 of the 100 countries in attendance to “maintain human control and involvement for all actions … concerning nuclear weapons employment.”

UK Nuclear Power

• Somerset Live: Somerset campaigners celebrate as EDF Energy U-turns on planned Hinkley Point C saltmarshes. Environmental campaigners in Somerset are celebrating after plans to create new saltmarshes to offset the county’s new nuclear power station were scrapped. EDF Energy held a public consultation in January and February over its proposals for new saltmarshes on the Pawlett Hams, which lie on the right bank of the River Parrett near the villages of Combwich and Pawlett.
• Left Foot Forward: TUC votes to oppose ban on new oil and gas licenses until plan for ‘commensurate jobs for all North Sea workers’ is agreed. Delegates at the Congress also voted for a motion which also called for the building of Sizewell C.
• East Anglian Daily Times: Sizewell C and Wild East have joined forces with the aim of returning a fifth of East Anglia to its natural state. The new nuclear power project is working with Wild East – which was founded in 2021 with the aim of inspiring and empowering organisations and individuals to pledge 20% of their own outside space to nature. The plan includes working with Sizewell C’s local supply chain on environmental projects as well as delivering conservation education in local schools. Organisations including Natural England and the University of East Anglia have already pledged land for the wilding project, and Wild East aims to help one million people support nature recovery by 2030.
• Bylines Scotland: The future of new nuclear. With new nuclear stagnating and renewables soaring – the sober reality is that nuclear power is just too costly and too late amid crisis.

NATO / Europe

• Ukinform: Experts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) analyzed the statements by Central Intelligence Agency Director (CIA) William Burns regarding Russia’s threats to use nuclear weapons.

Middle East

• Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant spoke to the Daily Mail, where he’s claimed Iran is close to acquiring a nuclear weapon. 

AUKUS/ Indo-Pacific

• Reuters: North Korea’s Kim Jong Un vows to exponentially boost nuclear arsenal.
• NK News: Dutch minister warns of ‘domino effect’ if ROK goes nuclear to deter North Korea. Defense chief says Seoul and partners should pursue nonproliferation, but says decision on nukes is up to South Korea.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament