This is the last article you can read this month
You can read more article this month
You can read more articles this month
Sorry your limit is up for this month
Reset on:
Please help support the Morning Star by subscribing here
THE government should scrap nuclear weapons and adopt a “genuine security policy” to combat modern risks, peace campaigners said at the weekend.
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) acting general secretary Sara Medi Jones called on politicians to “look to the dangers ahead – to look at what conflict will look like and what security should look like.”
Ms Medi Jones told the Future Wars: The Impact of New Technologies conference in London yesterday that the government’s assessment of threats has changed, with the possibility of nuclear attack no longer being ranked in “tier one.”
She pointed out that global pandemics, climate change, cyberattacks and terrorism are acknowledged by the government as the core threats, but that this is not reflected in policy.
Ms Medi Jones said many experts have begun to question the viability of nuclear weapons in the 21st century, citing former Blairite defence secretary Des Browne as an example.
She also warned of the dangers of a “hostile takeover” of nuclear weapons by hackers or secret service agencies using computer viruses.
“We need a government that is interested in a policy of genuine security, not a concept of security that flatters an ego and a sense of grandeur and power that we no longer have,” she said.
“Britain disarming its nuclear weapons would not only provide political leadership, it would create a practical blueprint to support others to do the same.”
Ms Medi Jones also urged the conference to continue opposing Britain’s close relationship with the United States.
She said: “It is more urgent than ever for the government to end this exclusive relationship,” warning that “maintenance of it is giving active support to Trump and his warmongering policies.”
The conference brought together activists and academics from Germany, France and Britain to discuss the new military threat.
Other speakers included German peace campaigner Lucas Wirl, who discussed the military research that is widespread in his country’s universities, ethical theorist Elke Schwarz and prominent investigative journalist Duncan Campbell.
