The Investigation: Should we renew Trident?
On today's Morning Extra Ken MacDonald gauges the public and political temperature over Trident. Is it time to renew the Faslane-based submarines that carry the UK's nuclear deterrent? Or should we consign them to the scrap heap in a step towards a nuclear weapon free world?
We can reveal that the naval base at Faslane has suffered a series of safety breaches including radioactive leaks from nuclear-powered submarines. Scotland's environment watchdog, Sepa, said it would have considered closing the base if it had had the power.
Two years ago, the House of Commons approved the British government's plans to update and replace Trident. But in March of this year the prime minister offered to cut the number of warheads on Trident submarines as part of an effort to kick-start the latest round of nuclear non-proliferation talks.
In actual fact, the number of warheads on Trident has halved since Labour came to power and the prime minister says he's ready to look at further cuts. But is he going far enough? Would you like to see it completely scrapped? Or is the value of this deadly deterrent too important to lose?
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