Dear all,

Please find today’s press roundup below. Thank you all for your continued support.

Nukes in Britain

• CND website: A gallery of images from CND’s conference at SOAS is now on the CND website.

• In Cumbria: A purpose-built ship, based in Barrow-in-Furness, was recently fitted with a new sail technology. Nuclear Transport Solutions (NTS) has become the first nuclear transport operator in the world to install and trial new sail technology on its ships. The company has collaborated with renewable marine technology specialist Smart Green Shipping (SGS) on the project to find new ways to reduce fuel and greenhouse gas emissions from its nuclear ships.

• Business Crack: When she was launched in 1971 HMS Swiftsure represented the cutting edge of the Royal Navy’s Submarine Service. Now the Cold War veteran will serve as the blueprint for dismantling the rest of the UK’s decommissioned nuclear boats. Swiftsure was withdrawn from service in 1992 after a career which saw crew take part in some of the most audacious actions of the Cold War. “I wonder how many memories have been recalled: operations under the ice, crossings of the Equator, activities in each of the globe’s oceans, whether rolling uncomfortably at 400m, or drifting tensely in the adversaries’ baffles,” Chris Carpenter, head of submarine disposal and Devonport Infrastructure, told former crew members who came to see the submarine which is now housed in a dry dock at the Babcock facility at Rosyth.

Global Nukes

• Bloomberg: China speeds nuclear-weapons buildout, US defense agency says.
• Foreign Affairs: The nuclear brain trust. Presidents shouldn’t make the biggest decision by themselves.
• Real Clear Defense: Japan’s inevitable independent nuclear deterrent.
• South China Morning Post: Nuclear weapons proliferation is not necessarily bad news. Nuclear arms on both sides of tensions can prevent escalations into outright war, as has been the case in South Asia.
• World Politics Review: There’s no such thing as ‘limited’ nuclear weapons.

Middle East

• Tehran Times: Iran’s nuclear chief says no halt to Iranian nuclear work despite Israeli threats.

NATO / Europe

• CSIS: France’s nuclear offer to Europe.
• Politico: Washington and Berlin are slow-walking Ukraine’s bid for a NATO invitation. Ukraine’s Zelenskyy wants an immediate invitation to join the alliance, but key capitals are balking.
• BBC, Al Jazeera, Politico, the Telegraph and Reuters report on the signing of a landmark German-UK defence agreement. The treaty allows for German P-8 surveillance aircraft to operate from RAF Lossiemouth and provides for greater military-industrial cooperation.

UK Nuclear Energy

• Bridgwater Mercury: For the third successive year, Hinkley Point C has been confirmed as the main event sponsor for the annual Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival, which this year takes place on Saturday, November 2. The popular event is one of Europe’s largest illuminated carnivals and attracts tens of thousands of people into the historic market town on the first Saturday of every November.
• Eastern Daily Press: A nuclear power station could be built on the Norfolk coastunder plans being drawn up to help the UK reach its net zero targets. Viaro Energy, which brought Bacton Gas Terminal earlier this year, has revealed that the site is a ‘target’ location for a new generation of ‘small scale’ power plants.
• Independent Office for Police Conduct: Six former Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) officers would have been dismissed had they not already resigned following an IOPC investigation into WhatsApp conversations where discriminatory and grossly offensive messages were shared. Our independent investigation looked at allegations officers had shared or failed to challenge messages, including some that were racist or misogynistic. All six were part of a WhatsApp group named ‘Band of Brothers’, which was discovered as part of an investigation into an unrelated matter and referred to the IOPC.

Nuclear Energy

• The Guardian: A senior Australian government nuclear safety official says the sites of coal-fired power plants “might not be adequate” to house the opposition’s proposed taxpayer-funded nuclear reactors. Government agencies and departmental officials were grilled in parliament on Wednesday at a government-backed inquiry into nuclear energy. The inquiry was tasked with scrutinising the Coalition’s controversial plan to lift Australia’s ban on nuclear power and build taxpayer-funded reactors at seven sites. Several officials told the inquiry it would take at least 10 to 15 years to start generating nuclear power once a future government confirmed an intention to build reactors.
• The Washington Post opinion: Nuclear Power could rise again. Building out nuclear power will be critical for the project of combating climate change.

Nuclear Waste

• World Nuclear News: Ongoing concerns over project management, the pace of delivery and staffing at the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria mean it is not yet achieving value for money, according to a new report from the UK’s National Audit Office.
• Isle of Man Today: Nuclear silo is leaking 2,100 litres of contaminated water a day.

AI

•  The Telegraph: How Silicon Valley is sparking a new nuclear age.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament