British Chancellor Brown backs nuclear deterrent

London, June 22: British Chancellor of the Exchequer and prime minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown said he backed the country's independent nuclear deterrent.

Prime Minister Tony Blair has said he will not fight another election and many expect Brown to succeed him within two years.

Their ruling Labour party has a manifesto commitment to keep the deterrent until at least the next election, expected in 2009.

Britain's Trident nuclear missile system and the Vanguard submarines that carry them need replacing by 2024 and a decision is set to be taken in the next year.

Brown has made it clear he sees no political block in retaining the country's nuclear deterrent and his personal view is that Britain should do so.

In an annual speech to the City of London elite, he heralded a Britain that was ''strong in defence in fighting terrorism, upholding NATO, supporting our armed forces at home and abroad, and retaining our independent nuclear deterrent.'' The main opposition Conservative Party welcomed Brown's commitment to keep the nuclear deterrent but said it was not new, given the pledge was in Labour's 2005 manifesto.

''This is just more spin to cast Gordon Brown as a statesman,'' said Liam Fox, the shadow defence minister.

''The Chancellor is reheating an old pledge to retain the current nuclear deterrent, but he is not committing to replacing the independent nuclear deterrent when it reaches the end of its current life,'' he said in a statement yesterday.

Treasury officials were unable to give any indication on what the cost of any replacements would because the government would consider various options.

There have been independent estimates that replacing Trident could cost anything from 10 billion to 25 billion pounds, depending the type of any new missiles or submarines.

Labour lawmaker Gordon Prentice warned it would be an ''absolute outrage'' if billions were ''squandered'' on a new generation of nuclear weapons without a vote in parliament.

Blair told parliament yesterday: ''There should be the fullest possible debate on this issue. I am sure there will be.'' He reconfirmed that a decision about replacing Trident would be taken in this Parliament.

Reuters