Browne defends need for British nuclear deterrent

LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) Failure to invest now in Britain's nuclear capability would leave future generations without a credible deterrent to extreme threats to national security, Defence Minister Des Browne said today.

He was speaking ahead of an expected parliamentary vote in March on a government policy paper launched last month calling for the renewal of Britain's nuclear defence system to extend its life into the middle of the 21st century.

The current Vanguard-class fleet of submarines carrying Trident missiles are due to go out of service by 2022 at the latest, Browne said. And with at least 17 years to design, build and test a replacement ''we must make a decision now,'' he added.

''Otherwise effectively we will be committing future generations to disarmament -- by depriving them of the option of a credible deterrent,'' he said in a speech at King's College London.

Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour Party is split on the issue with many on the left strongly opposed to nuclear arms.

But Browne rejected arguments that in a post-Cold War world there was no need for a nuclear deterrent.

''While there is, right now, no nuclear threat, we cannot rule out the possibility that one will re-emerge,'' he said.

And he denied that Britain's decision would have any bearing on efforts to dissuade Iran and North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons.

''There is no reason whatsoever to believe that if instead of maintaining our deterrent we allowed it to lapse, or even dismantled it tomorrow, this would make it any more likely that other countries would abandon their nuclear weapons, or their ambitions to develop them,'' he said.

The government has said it will cost 15-20 billion pounds for a new four-strong submarine fleet. Browne said that was equivalent to two-tenths of one percent of GDP over the life of the system and would not come at the expense of spending on conventional capabilities.

REUTERS SY ND2054