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Published on Tuesday, 13 June 2006 15:28
Hans Blix, the
UN\'s chief weapons\' inspector, will tell a
delegation of Scottish church leaders and politicians
that Britain is \"at a crossroads \" which could
influence the global spread and development of new
nuclear arms.
The Rt Rev Alan McDonald, Moderator
of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and
Lord Ronald King Murray, the former lord advocate, are
among 20 anti-nuclear lobbyists on a fact-finding
mission to the Atomic Weapons Establishment at
Aldermaston.
He said \"Any state contemplating
the modernisation of its nuclear weapon systems must
consider such action in the light of all relevant treaty
obligations and its duty to contribute to the
international nuclear disarmament
process.
\"France and Britain are now at a
crossroads. Going down one road would show their
conviction that nuclear weapons are not necessary for
their security. Going down the other would demonstrate
to all states a belief that these weapons continue to be
indispensable.\"
Mr Blix\'s comments came as
Ministry of Defence figures show that £4.4bn has been
spent on research at Aldermaston between 1993 and this
year. There is also a commitment to invest a further
£5bn of taxpayers\' money to build a series of
super-computers, and to recruit specialists for work on
new nuclear warheads for the next generation of
weapons.