Nuclear deterrent strategy ‘no longer fit for purpose’
The UK’s nuclear deterrent strategy is outdated and a lack of expertise has left the country with an “awful lot of ground to make up”, a report backed by the former head of the civil service has warned.
Lord Simon Case, who was cabinet secretary until shortly after Labour returned to government, has joined academics in warning that the UK was unprepared for the rise of nuclear threats.
Policy Exchange researchers said aggression from Russia and the security risks posed by China made the UK’s current nuclear deterrent strategy “no longer fit for purpose”.
The report called on the government to upgrade its expertise in nuclear deterrence and explore a ‘sub-strategic’ system for deterrence that would provide alternatives to the Trident programme.
It also urged senior military officers and diplomats to abandon “disarmament mindsets”.
“Britain can no longer rely on a narrow cadre of specialists or under-trained officers,” researchers said.
“Instead, it must rebuild a standing body of strategically educated nuclear policymakers and commanders, akin to the US model, and explicitly revive Britain’s historic role as Nato’s second centre of nuclear decision-making.”
Case, who worked under Prime Ministers from Boris Johnson to Keir Starmer, said: “After decades of underinvestment and dither, money and talent are flowing back towards our nuclear programme.
“There is an awful lot of ground to make up.
“Whilst the ultimate guarantee of our nation’s security might rest in the missile tubes of our submarine on patrol and, in future, also in the bomb bay of an RAF jet, creating the necessary doubt in our enemy’s mind that stops them seeking to threaten our interests depend too on an educated and determined collective understanding of what it takes and what it means to be a nuclear-armed state.”
Healey urged to act on nuclear deterrence
The report highlighted problems with educational courses for military officers and the lack of a focus on nuclear deterrence.
It added that the UK’s investment in nuclear programmes lagged behind world powers including the US, Russia, China and France.
The report adds to questions over the strategic ambitions behind the UK’s military upgrade and increased investment in defence.
The UK and France indicated last year that it would expand its nuclear co-operation to counter threats against Europe.
Defence secretary John Healey is also tasked with deciding where to allocate resources as the UK increases expenditure to 2.5 per cent of GDP from next year.
Sir Richard Knighton, the chief of defence staff, warned that available government funds would not be enough to deliver on recommendations made in the strategic defence review while Healey has spoken about his ambition to leverage private finance.