BARROW’S MP and the Ministry of Defence defend the UK's nuclear deterrent following calls for the immediate decommissioning of the Trident nuclear weapons system.

On the 76th anniversary of the dropping of the first atomic bomb (August 6) anti-nuclear campaigners met in Abbot Hall Park, Kendal to remember the horrors of the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. Members and supporters of South Lakeland and Lancaster District Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament kept a minute’s silence for the 340,000 children, women and men who died as a result of the atomic bombs dropped in 1945 and shared readings calling for a world free from nuclear weapons.

imCAMPAIGN: Demonstration at Abbot Hall Park in Kendal

imCAMPAIGN: Demonstration at Abbot Hall Park in Kendal

Philip Gilligan, on behalf of the group, said: “The seed sent to us by our friends in Hiroshima is descended directly from camellia bushes which survived the blast, fireball and radioactivity which killed so many people in 1945.

“We aim to cherish it as a symbol of worldwide resistance to nuclear weapons.

“In 2021, campaigning for a future free from the threat of nuclear warfare is more urgent than it has ever been. In our own country, instead of meeting commitments under Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to “pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating …to nuclear disarmament”, the Government is replacing and upgrading the Trident nuclear weapons system, widening the circumstances in which the UK’s nuclear weapons could be used and increasing the size of this lethal arsenal by a staggering 40 per cent. Policies like these increase the risk of another Hiroshima and must be resisted by us all.”

CAMPAIGN: Demonstration at Abbot Hall Park in Kendal

CAMPAIGN: Demonstration at Abbot Hall Park in Kendal

Simon Fell, MP for Barrow, said: “We would all do well to consider the lessons of Hiroshima and the terrible cost of war. But it is entirely possible to do so and recognise the strategic importance of the nuclear deterrent to our own, and our NATO-partners’ safety.

MP: Simon Fell

MP: Simon Fell

“The deterrent keeps us safe every single day and is the life blood of Barrow, with over 10,000 people involved in the submarine programme locally.”

The shipyard in Barrow is the main site supplying submarines for the Dreadnought and Astute programmes which play a key role in the nuclear deterrent.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: “The UK’s independent nuclear deterrent exists to deter the most extreme threats to the UK and our NATO allies. It will remain essential for as long as the global security situation demands.

“The UK remains fully committed to the long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons, negotiated within the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and will keep working with international partners towards an environment where further progress on nuclear disarmament is possible.”