Brown warns against unilateral disarmament

London, Nov 26: Gordon Brown reiterated his support for maintaining Britain's nuclear deterrent as the government launches what is sure to be a heated debate on the future of its nuclear arsenal.

Speaking at Labour's Scottish conference in Oban, the man seen as Prime Minister Tony Blair's most likely successor warned against unilateral disarmament, given the stand-offs with North Korea and Iran on the issue of nuclear weapons.

''If North Korea has got nuclear weapons, if there are other states threatening to have nuclear weapons, then it doesn't make sense to take unilateral action when what we need is multilateral action using the weapons we have,'' the chancellor of the Exchequer said yesterday.

The government has promised a parliamentary vote on the issue early next year and the cabinet has held initial discussions on whether or how to replace Britain's nuclear defence system.

Ministers say decisions must be taken now if Britain is to replace the system, consisting of Trident missiles carried aboard four Vanguard-class nuclear-powered submarines, that will reach the end of its life in about 2024.

The government has to choose between scrapping nuclear weapons, extending the life of the existing system, ordering a replacement for Trident or buying an entirely new system.

Supporters of nuclear weapons say it is impossible to predict what security threats Britain could face in 20 years and point to North Korea's nuclear test and Western suspicions that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran says its nuclear programme is solely to generate electricity to meet its growing energy demands.

Opponents say nuclear weapons are an unnecessary waste of money.

Reuters