UN Secretary General Wants Nuclear Weapons Banned

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon has challenged nuclear-armed states to scrap their atomic arsenals during a visit to Nagasaki, where 70,000 people were killed by a US bomb in the closing days of World War II.

Mr Ban toured the Atomic Bomb Museum and met six survivors during his visit, the first by a UN chief to Nagasaki.

UK Submarines have more Safety Problems

The UK's troubled £4 billion programme to build a fleet of new nuclear-powered submarines has been hit by a safety bungle that may have left thousands of people in danger.

Emergency plans for responding to an accidental leak of radioactivity from a submarine under construction at Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria have been condemned as inadequate by the Government’s safety watchdog.

MOD and Treasury in Dispute Over Trident Costs

Seizing on reports of a dispute between the Treasury and Ministry of Defence over who will pay for Trident renewal, SNP Westminster leader and Defence spokesperson Angus Robertson MP said the battle underlined how renewal of the nuclear weapons scheme was unaffordable, and warned over the threat to spending on conventional defence equipment.

Defence Secretary's Trident Madness

Commenting following the Chatham House speech by the Defence Secretary, in which he claimed renewal of the £100bn Trident nuclear weapons programme represented value for money, SNP Westminster leader and Defence spokesperson, Angus Robertson MP said:

“To claim Trident represents value for money is the economics of the madhouse.

Ministry Of Defence Nuclear Safety Problems

Bill Kidd, SNP MSP for Glasgow and member of the Global Council for Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non Proliferation and Disarmament (PNDD), has sought top-level assurances following the release of an internal Ministry of Defence Safety Report under freedom of information law. The report details increasing difficulties on the part of the MoD in safely managing its nuclear programme.

Labour's Nuclear BallsUp

Scottish Nationalists have challenged candidates taking part in the Labour leadership hustings in Glasgow to make clear their position on renewing Trident nuclear weapons system.

Mr Balls came under fire after suggesting that nuclear power station planning decisions should be taken by the UK Parliament.

He said that the Scottish Parliament could not be allowed to block nuclear power stations - ignoring the fact that planning powers are devolved