UK's defense chief slams Miliband's loyalty to nukes
The British defense secretary has questioned the Labor Party leader’s commitment to the UK’s Trident nuclear arms as part of the nation’s political campaigning ahead of the May 7 election, renewing criticism of the nukes.
The Friday development came as Michael Fallon alleged that Ed Miliband, the Labor Party leader, is stabbing the UK in the back at the expense of the country’s national security, further accusing him of offering to trade nuclear defense for Scottish National Party (SNP)'s backing in his electoral bid to become Britain’s next prime minister.
The row prompted UK’s senior military figures to insist that the country’s aging nuclear arsenal should not become a political tool as political campaigning heats up across Britain.
“It is sad and cheap that something as fundamentally important as whether we are or are not a nuclear deterrent-holding nation … descends into the tactical battle of a general election campaign,” said the UK’s former army chief General Sir Richard Dannatt.
A former First Sea Lord and Labor peer Lord West, meanwhile, strongly censured Fallon for his remarks saying, “I thought [Fallon] was a very sensible, thoughtful fellow and I think he has rather let himself down. I think it has been an ill-judged statement.”
This is while a critic of the Trident, General Secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Kate Hudson said that the Tories were afraid of a “serious debate” on the issue of nuclear weapons.
“With the final vote on Trident replacement due in 2016, at an estimated cost of £100 billion, this is the final election before the decision – and it is one which requires a higher level of debate than the Tories’ name-calling,” she stated in a Thursday statement.
Hudson further added that senior military figures have warned that renewing the country’s nuclear arms will do nothing to keep Britain safe, but will instead lead to loss of jobs across the armed forces.
She also pointed to a recent survey indicating that 80 percent of legislative candidates from the UK’s major political parties are opposed to modernizing the nation’s nuclear weapons.
MFB/NN/HRB
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