Daily Telegraph – 18 July 2016

A letter (July 15) signed by 16 academics urges MPs to end continuous at-sea deployment (CASD) of our nuclear deterrent and to vote to “cancel the Trident 'Successor’ programme” when its future is debated today. Such recommendations lie firmly within the tradition of high-minded but half-baked disarmament proposals dating back to the 1920s.

Far from reducing risks, ending CASD would make ‘bolt from the blue’ attacks by enemies more likely. No longer would an aggressor face the certainty of retaliation in kind; and, even if we had warning of a crisis, sending submarines to sea as it was developing would exacerbate tension and encourage pre-emption.

By calling for the cancellation of Trident Successor submarines, the signatories show their commitment to one-sided nuclear disarmament. The British people reject this: both during and long after the Cold War, polls have shown that two-thirds want to retain nuclear weapons while other countries have them, and only one quarter disagree.

Dr JULIAN LEWIS MP
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA