Trident: Labour would sign UN treaty banning nuclear weapons Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow minister for peace has said a Labour government would sign a global anti-nuclear weapons treaty that would […]

Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow minister for peace has said a Labour government would sign a global anti-nuclear weapons treaty that would effectively confine the Royal Navy’s Trident submarines to port.

Fabian Hamilton MP, in comments that risk reigniting the party’s internal divisions over the future of the UK’s nuclear deterrent, told i that while the issue of Trident was “dead in the water” as it had been approved by Parliament, a future Corbyn government would sign a UN treaty that bans nuclear weapons and prohibits their use.

Labour included a promise to renew Trident in its election manifesto, but Hamilton said that Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour party presented a “golden opportunity” for opponents of nuclear weapons, admitting the issue was still a “thorn in the side” of the party.

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He said: “Parliament voted a year ago to renew Trident and it’s in the manifesto, but let’s move on. In July the United Nations voted for a treaty banning nuclear weapons. I supported it and Jeremy Corbyn supports the ban – that has gone unnoticed.”

The nuclear option

The UN treaty, approved by the general assembly, is the first time in the seven-decade effort to avert nuclear war that a move has been made to call for the destruction of all nuclear weapons and for prohibiting their use. It was boycotted by the world’s nine nuclear-armed states, including the UK.

A move by a future Labour government to sign the treaty would face fierce opposition from backbench MPs.

Last night John Woodcock, chair of Labour’s backbench defence committee, said calls for the UK to become the first nuclear weapons state to sign the ban are “not compatible” with maintaining Trident.

He said: “If the UK signed the ban treaty in its current form, with the stroke of a pen it would be unilaterally declaring its own nuclear deterrent illegal, requiring the immediate cessation of the Royal Navy’s nuclear patrols and full disarmament.”

Mr Hamilton said Mr Corbyn should move “slowly and through Parliament” to sign the treaty if elected prime minister, and said similar UN treaties for chemical weapons and landmines had proven effective. Both men are long-term supporters of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).

Brexit harming UK power Brexit is doing untold damage to Britain’s soft power and influence, the shadow minister for peace has warned. Fabian Hamilton described the UK’s exit from the European Union as the “greatest crisis to hit this county” since the Second World War and said it was weakening Britain’s influence with its international allies. He said that the EU had been a central force in “preventing wars” in Europe and had been vital for Britain’s security. He said: “I hope one day there is a way there is a way back into the EU. I hope one day that the people of this country see the error of their ways: that’s my personal opinion, that’s not the party opinion.” Jeremy Corbyn is already resisting pressure from Labour MPs to commit to the party keeping the UK in the single market after Brexit. Earlier this month Mr Corbyn told Brussels that a no-deal Brexit was bad for the UK and the EU and promised Labour would conduct negotiations in a spirit of “co-operation and mutual respect”.

Mr Hamilton, who is the son of an Special Operations Executive (SOE) agent who parachuted into France during the Second World War, also said he would urge Mr Corbyn not to write “letters of last resort” with launch orders for Vanguard submarine commanders in the event of a nuclear attack on the UK.

The hand-written letters are one of the most secretive parts of the UK’s nuclear deterrent and drafting a letter for each of the Royal Navy’s four Vanguard submarines would be one of Corbyn’s first tasks in office if elected Prime Minister. One test applied by submarine commanders in decided to open the letter is reportedly whether the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 is still broadcasting.



“My advice to Corbyn would be have nothing to do with nuclear weapons, there is always a better way. Don’t write the letter. Find an alternative,” said Mr Hamilton.

Peace not pacifism

Mr Hamilton insisted a desire to pursue nuclear disarmament does not mean Labour is weak on defence. He said: “You don’t have to be a pacifist to be against nuclear proliferation and in favour of peace. You should defend your values and you should defend your nation state.”

Mr Corbyn, who has opposed nuclear weapons his entire political life, has long been at odds with his MPs over the issue of Trident. The weapons system is supposed to be a deterrent – so it’s vital the enemy doesn’t know how the UK would respond to an attack.



The Labour leader has previously ruled out any use of nuclear weapons, but in May, during the election campaign, his position appeared to have publicly softened slightly when he only ruled out “first use” of Trident. He said: “If we did use it, millions are going to die – you have to think this thing through. I will decide it on the circumstances of it at the time.”

His comments came after shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry suggested that Labour might chance its stance on nuclear weapons after holding a review if it won power.

Johnny Mercer, the Tory MP for Plymouth Moor View and a member of the defence select committee, said the row showed that Jeremy Corbyn is “is the biggest strategic threat this country faces at the moment.”



He said: “Despite assurances from many in the Labour Party that Jeremy Corbyn had changed from a lifetime of opposition to Trident and this country’s nuclear defence policy, it transpires that he in fact is ready to dispose of this country’s nuclear defence as soon as he can get his hands on the keys for Number 10. Again, he proves he is the biggest strategic threat this country faces at the moment.”



He added: “Further it would be a nail in the coffin of naval City’s such as Plymouth that rely to a heavy extent on the work it provides to the local economy.”