UK foreign secretary wants debate on Trident's fate

By Staff
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LONDON, Oct 29 (Reuters) Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett called today for a public debate on the future of Britain's Trident nuclear missile system.

Prime Minister Tony Blair has expressed his commitment to replacing Trident with a similar independent nuclear missile force, as has Gordon Brown, the chancellor who is expected to succeed Blair within a year.

''The nature and shape of the nuclear deterrent we have and are maintaining and keeping up to date was dictated in the Cold War circumstances of decades ago,'' Beckett told the Sunday Times newspaper in an interview.

''The security situation today across the world is very, very different...Whether it is less dangerous, and what decisions that leads you to, is quite another matter.'' She said that was ''something people deserve to have laid out before them and to be able to think about it for themselves.'' Trident and the Vanguard submarines that carry them need replacing by 2024. Critics of Britain's nuclear force say it is useless for combating conflicts such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan or for tackling global terrorism.

Blair has promised a debate in parliament before a decision is made in cabinet, but some Labour MPs fear any views opposing renewal will be gagged in some way.

Independent estimates put replacing Trident at anything from 10 billion pounds to 25 billion pounds, depending on the type of any new missiles or submarines.

The Trident system was ordered during the Cold War in 1982 and the first of its four submarines made its maiden voyage 12 years later.

The fourth submarine made its maiden voyage just five years ago.

Because of the long development time to build a new system the government must decide soon whether to replace Trident before the submarines finish their normal service life.

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