Former Defence minister hits out at unilateralist “myths” over Trident

Former Defence minister Kevan Jones has taken aim at the “myths” promoted by unilateralists following an acrimonious discussion of Trident among Labour MPs.

Jones attacked the claim by Diane Abbott, the Shadow International Development Secretary, that the cost of replacing Trident could fund NHS Accident and Emergency Services for several decades and implies she has trivialised the issue by suggesting disarmament would lead to a £100bn windfall for the Treasury.

Writing for LabourList, Jones said: “Diane has cited many of the myths surrounding this debate, including that the money spent on Trident could fully fund all A&E services in our hospitals for 40 years. Claims like this cannot go unaddressed if we are going to debate this issue with the seriousness it deserves.

“In 2012-13, in England alone, there were 5.3 million emergency admissions to hospitals, representing around 67 per cent of hospital bed days, and costing approximately £12.5 billion. If this cost was maintained for the next 40 years, at today’s prices, the cost of emergency admissions for this period would equate to approximately £500 billion, well over five times some estimates of how much it will cost to maintain the UK’s nuclear deterrent.

“Some are giving an impression that if the Vanguard-successor programme was cancelled, more than £100bn would suddenly be available to the Treasury, immediately ending austerity. But this figure is an estimate of how much retaining the deterrent will cost over the entire lifespan of the submarines.”

Jones was writing after a fiery meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party on Monday night, which prompted criticism of a speech by Emily Thornberry, the shadow Defence Secretary. Jones served as a shadow defence minister in this parliament but stepped down last month following the appointment of the Emily Thornberry, which he described as a “mistake”.

Today Jones warns that Europe and the Middle East face “the biggest crises we have seen for a generation” as other nuclear states continue to update their weapons delivery system.

He calls for the international community to work with the UN and the Organisation for Co-operation and Security in Europe to deliver peace, and adds:

“If we want to see a world without nuclear weapons it is through these institutions that progress will be made. But we would be in danger of undermining the effectiveness of international institutions, diminishing the likelihood of cooperation and conditions for orderly multilateral negotiation, if we were to make nuclear disarmament decisions in isolation.”

His passionate response to Abbott follows her LabourList article last week in which she said to deploy Trident would amount to “genocide”.

Abbott said: “The question of renewal also strikes at the very the heart of British identity – about the country we’ve been, and our future role on the global stage of a modern, complex and changing world.

“Such a core and costly question deserves a proper debate, and Emily Thornberry’s comprehensive defence review is to be welcomed.

“My own views on Trident are long-held and clear – I believe unilateral disarmament is the right and practical choice.