BASING US nuclear weapons in Britain will make the country a “guaranteed target” in the event of nuclear war, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) has warned.
And the plan is likely to have provoked Russia’s decision to base its own nuclear weapons in Belarus.
CND cited mounting evidence that the British government and the US have agreed to redeploy US missiles in Britain, including documentary evidence.
US nuclear weapons were removed from Britain in 2008 after a prolonged campaign by CND and others, including the Greenham Common Women.
CND said today: “Documents accumulated since 2022 have provided evidence that nuclear weapons will return.
“These include the upgrade of nuclear storage sites at RAF Lakenheath to store the new B61-12 guided nuclear bomb [and] plans to build a new ‘surety dormitory’ to house US Air Force personnel for a nuclear mission.
“And most recently, contracts to install ballistic protection sites at the base, designed to protect troops from strikes on ‘high value assets.’
“The Lakenheath upgrades form part of a wider effort to upgrade US/Nato nuclear infrastructure across Europe, which has preceded — and likely provoked — Russia’s deployment of its own nuclear weapons to Belarus.
“Despite this, neither the US or UK government have given information to the public about this deployment.”
CND is mounting a legal challenge against the Lakenheath redevelopment through law firm Leigh Day.
CND general secretary Kate Hudson said: “CND welcomes the growing attention on this dangerous and destabilising development.
“We encourage both the media and the public to increase pressure on the British government to be honest about this deployment.
“It’s shameful that our government continues to take us for fools on this serious matter. They are refusing to give us crucial information about our security.
“This development has been in the works for some time, prior to Russia sending its own nuclear weapons to Belarus.
“So, far from making us safer, this deployment has escalated the dangers, brought Russian nukes to Europe, and made us a nuclear target.”
Leigh Day solicitor Ricardo Gama said the government’s Ministry of Defence needed to provide transparent information about what the purpose of the Lakenheath development is.
