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Published on Tuesday, 20 June 2006 14:08
A Group
of Scottish politicians and religious leaders were
denied access to AWE Aldermaston.Their visit was to
investigate claims that the site is pro ducing the
next generation of nuclear weapons.
Nuclear
chiefs refused to allow the delegation onto the site,
arguing that the protestors should take their case to
the Government. They were turned away by the armed
Ministry of Defence police who guard the
base.
Despite the ban the delegation said they
wanted to see the proposed site for a new £100 million
laser, which could be used within five years to test the
effectiveness of nuclear warheads.The delegation, which
included former Lord Advocate of Scotland Lord Ronald
King Murray and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland,
the Right Rev Alan McDonald, said it had written to the
base requesting a meeting on two occasions, but had been
turned down. So instead they read out a list of demands
to the Government.
The group demanded that the
Government should disclose to Parliament the proposals
for developments at AWE Aldermaston and said they wanted
more of AldermastonÂ’s resources to be focussed on
disarmament and nuclear decommissioning.
Nuclear
Information Service (NIS) spokeswoman Di McDonald aid:
“This was a fact finding mission which reflected the
widespread Scottish opposition to nuclear weapons.“But
AWE refused our request for the meeting and we are still
trying to find out why.”
AWE Aldermaston defended
its decision to stop the delegation touring the site.
Alan Price, spokesman for AWE, said: “The request was
declined as the question of investment in AWE, both its
purpose and magnitude, is a matter of Government policy.
“As such it is outside the remit of AWE plc which
manages and operates the AWE sites as a contractor. “In
our response to the Scottish delegation we asked them to
refer any questions or concerns to the MoD and we
directed them to publically available sources of
information about the site development plans at
AWE.”
The Right Rev McDonald said: \"If no
decision has been made on whether to replace Trident
then why are billions flowing into Aldermaston? \"The
Government should listen to the findings of Hans
Blix\'s new WMD report which clearly calls for the UK
to refrain from developing new weapons, as such a move
would encourage a new arms race.\"
AWE received
planning permission to construct a building to house the
new Orion laser last year. The current laser has been in
operation for 25 years and the new laser is due to be
operational in 2011. The Orion laser will also monitor
the stock of Trident nuclear weapons, but the Government
has refuted claims that the laser will be used to
develop the next generation of nuclear
warheads.
A decision on whether to replace the
ageing Trident nuclear deterrent is due to be taken
before the next General Election.
News
Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament 
