Blair unveils plans to keep nuclear arsenal, cut warheads

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2006

LONDON (AFP) — Prime Minister Tony Blair unveiled plans to modernise Britain's nuclear deterrent, cutting the number of warheads but warning that disarming would be dangerous as new terrorist threats emerge. While the Cold War is over, he said states like North Korea and Iran both had "highly dubious" reasons to pursue a nuclear weapons capability, and other rogue states were a distinct reason for Britain to keep its deterrent.

The plans include a new generation of nuclear submarines at a cost of up to 20 billion pounds (39.5 billion dollars). In an apparent concession to critics from within his own party and the anti-nuclear lobby, Blair promised to cut the number of stockpiled nuclear warheads by 20 percent from about 200 currently to 160. But he said: "The government's...