GOVERNMENTS launching into a new arms race have been urged to “step back from the nuclear brink” as the world remembers Hiroshima 80 years on.

As many as 340,000 are estimated to have died as a direct result of the US decision to use experimental atomic weapons — first in Hiroshima on August 6 1945, and three days later in Nagasaki on August 9. 

The nuclear arms race diverted trillions of dollars from socially useful programmes into developing warheads such as those now carried on Britain’s Trident submarines.

Those warheads — up to five of which are carried on each missile — have an explosive capacity eight times that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, while a single submarine’s stockpile is capable of delivering a nuclear winter which could wipe out life on Earth.

As the US and British governments write blank cheques to grow their genocidal capabilities still further, CND general secretary Sophie Bolt urged them to learn the lessons of history, telling the Star: “The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not necessary to end the second world war. 

“They were cold, calculated experiments carried out by those willing to take the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and monitor the effects on those who survived. 

“It was also a warning that the US was willing to commit acts of unprecedented mass murder to assert its dominance. 

“Eighty years on, the threat of nuclear conflict has never been higher. 

“Rather than using this solemn anniversary to reaffirm their commitment to nuclear disarmament, Britain and other nuclear-armed states are spending hundreds of billions on weapons that could destroy the planet. 

“History shows that it is ordinary people organising together in peaceful protest that forces leaders to step back from the nuclear brink. 

“Now more than ever we need to build our movement, from the grassroots up, bringing together all those who want a just, sustainable, nuclear-free future.”

Echoing the sentiment, a Stop the War spokeswoman added: “The government’s plan for more nuclear weapons threatens us all and we must oppose it. 

“It will only fuel more warmongering and more wars. If we want security at home, then let’s spend money on what people actually need, not on killing working-class people from other countries. 

“There must be no more Hiroshimas.”