A GROUP of Christian activists blocked the entrance to Britain’s main nuclear arsenal yesterday, chaining themselves together, praying and demanding an end to the Trident nuclear programme.

Lying in the gateway to Burghfield Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE), the anti-nuclear campaigners marked the beginning of Holy Week and of the general election campaign period.

As a final decision on the renewal of Trident is expected to be taken in 2016, protesters also called on all parties to state their intentions on the matter.

Speaking from the Berkshire site, campaigner Emma Anthony told the Star: “The Parliament dissolves today and we want people to know that during the general election, during the run-up to it, Trident needs to be an issue.

“All parties need to give a statement on Trident in the same way that they are expected to talk about the NHS, immigration, Scotland.

“Trident needs to be an election issue — Trident renewal is illegal, so we are trying to prevent it from happening.”

She added that Trident represented “ransacking God’s creation — it’s designed to cause indiscriminate harm.”

Ms Anthony and six other campaigners travelled from across the country to disrupt production at the nuclear site for over three hours.

The demonstration at Burghfield — which finished with hymns being sung — followed an ecumenical vigil at the neighbouring AWE Aldermaston facilities the day before, which was Palm Sunday.

The loose network of Christian activists of all denominations said the timing of the protests was also important because, in Holy Week, “Jesus turned over tables in the temple, confronting the political and military powers of his day.”

Campaigner Jo Frew said: “Nuclear weapons are a threat to everything I believe in: peace, justice, and the wellbeing of creation.

“We see in Jesus’s actions a clear imperative that faith compels us to act.

“That is why we are here today to call for an end to the atomic weapons industry and for Trident not to be replaced.”