Greens: Trident replacement would breach NPT

Green party MEP Caroline Lucas has warned that replacing the Trident nuclear weapons system will breach international law and threaten British security.

Ms Lucas, a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament's (CND's) national council, said: "Blair's proposal to replace Trident but cut the number of warheads from 200 to 160 will still break international law, threaten security and cost billions."

The Green party believes that replacing Trident would put the UK in breach of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), which requires nuclear states to disarm and not build new nuclear weapons.

Ms Lucas said: "There is simply no legal, moral, military or economic case for the government to replace Trident.

"If the government has billions to spend on protecting security, it shouldn't gamble it on chasing Cold War shadows but listen to its own advisors and instead use the cash to tackle the real security threats we face today: terrorism and climate change."