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Armed Forces: Nuclear Deterrent

My Lords, I venture into a debate on the nuclear deterrent because I cannot stay silent when this type of question comes before us. I know nothing at all about military systems and not much about armaments, but I know a wee bit about people. I am concerned about the consequences of this House’s decisions for people. I thought that I would be a lone voice in my approach on these and other Benches, but I am not. Others share my deep concern. Whatever the weapon—a bullet, a cluster bomb or one of our nuclear weapons—it is always designed for one end alone: to maim and destroy. During the Second World War, I lived not far from Liverpool. We could see the searchlights as they tried to identify the planes going overhead. We heard some of the bombs as they fell. We also learned of the destruction in places like Coventry and London, and heard about Dresden. Whichever side the destruction was on, it was always destroying innocent people—children in particular. That is the approach I want us to take. We can talk about weapons systems, but what about systems of children, innocent adults and families? The noble Baronesses, Lady Kennedy and Lady Tonge, mentioned the human consequences of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Figures vary, but I am told that up to 200,000 people died in those two cities that August. So many others were horrifically injured. When I was at university, we were talking about the effect of things like the strontium-90 fallout from nuclear explosions. Somebody must answer for the dreadful number of those who have already suffered from this sort of bombing. Noble Lords will remember, prior to the invasion of Iraq—to which these Benches were opposed—there was a t-shirt saying ““Not in my name””. That is I why I am speaking this evening. Will any decision taken here be one of which we will proud to say, ““I supported that”” or, in the Commons, ““We voted for that””? The consequences could be not just 200,000 but, because of the weapons we have today, millions of people. A noble Lord mentioned this evening that a modern warhead could wipe out the whole of London. We must lead the argument, ““Not in our name””. We must adopt a moral stance, and see the effect that any decision will have on children. When Trident was introduced over 20 years ago, there were still nations we could call a threat. You could then argue for this type of nuclear weaponry. As covered in the debate, however, neither China, France, the United States nor any other nation with nuclear weapons is a threat to us. The threat is the enemy within. That is where we should spend our money; on surveillance, intelligence and the apprehending of these people before they are able to create their own holocaust. We are combating part of a terrorist attack. Is it not also true that any deterrent ceases to be a deterrent once it is used? My noble friend Lady Tonge mentioned Armageddon, and that could be the consequence once one nuclear weapon is used. Some have argued about the legality of war with this sort of weaponry. Of course it is illegal. Look at the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Every child who is maimed in any way is a shattering of that convention. We think of the individual and those who suffer most. We continue to rely on smaller and stronger armaments, but are we not giving the wrong impression to those other nations, especially in the poorest parts of the world? They are told, ““You must have armaments and spend your few resources on weapons””, whether they be of mass destruction or more limited. Are we not sending them that message? Think of the annual cost, not only of producing these weapons but maintaining them, and how that money could be spent in other ways; not only on surveillance, conventional armaments and so on, but also on tackling AIDS. In 2001, I think, a United Nations commission stated that £12 billion could offer hope to every AIDS sufferer in the world. The other day, I heard on the news that £2 billion from the UK would break the back of AIDS in Africa. Some of us will remember a campaign of a few years ago saying that the money spent on armaments in two weeks could give every family in the world pure, drinkable water. There are so many things that need to be done, and so many ways we could spend our few resources in making the world a place of hope. The world needs worthy role models. Countries providing hope are examples worth following. Is this not the United Kingdom’s new opportunity? It is not easy—we have done things to make people suspicious of us—but it is possible to win the confidence of the most vulnerable people in the world over time, by our own example, as we withdraw from the brink of threats and destruction. Could not that be our new role? I am glad that I am not a lone voice. Tonight my own party is making wonderful steps in the right direction to bring an end to this terrible nuclear threat that has faced the world. Last week Mr Gordon Brown was in India. There, you remember, he stated that his great hero was Mahatma Gandhi. Many of us would agree with him. Whatever Mr Brown’s future role might be, we hope he will be able to change that admiration into action and positive measures. The alternative could be decisions by this Parliament that would condemn many millions of people to either no future at all—to oblivion—or a future in which they continued in their present desperate situation.