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The UK anti-nuclear group, CND, is renewing calls for the UK to refuse to allow the U.S. to site its nuclear weapons in Britain.
Fresh budget documents reveal that plans to store the new type B61-12 nuclear bomb at Lakenheath airbase are gathering pace, according to a CND release this week.
It’s beyond irresponsible that the UK government is allowing this deployment.
Kate Hudson, CND
Lakenheath is the forward base for U.S. F-35 stealth fighters in Europe. Last year it was selected to host two squadrons (54 planes) of the F-35, but the aircraft will need to be equipped to deliver U.S. nuclear bombs. Now the U.S. is building a surety dormitory to house the additional personnel needed for holding nuclear weapons at the base.
CND reports the Federation of American Scientists said that U.S. Air Force budget documents dated March 2023 “strongly imply” that Washington is in the process of re-establishing its nuclear weapons presence in Britain for the first time in fifteen years. It follows reports last year that Lakenheath airbase in Suffolk was added to a list of U.S.-operated airbases in Europe to undergo multi-million dollar upgrades allowing for the storage of the new B61-12 guided nuclear bomb.
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CND General Secretary Kate Hudson said, “It’s increasingly clear that Lakenheath is once again a vital cog in Washington’s overseas nuclear machine – despite refusals from the British government to acknowledge this reality.”
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament General Secretary Kate Hudson, holding the group's banner during a march through London in 2014.
Almost two-thirds of the British public don’t want U.S. nuclear weapons stationed in Britain, snap polling by YouGov has found.
“Following news that plans to bring the new B61-12 nuclear bomb to Lakenheath airbase in Suffolk are gathering pace, CND is renewing calls for the UK to refuse to allow the U.S. to site its nuclear weapons in Britain,” announced CND. “We are organising a day of action on September 23rd to protest this development!”
(Cover: RAF Lakenheath, UK - April 11 2023: F35 Lightning II jet taking off at RAF Lakenheath. Via Shutterstock)