Letter NFLA: I read with incredulity your article that said nuclear weapon road convoys from the atomic weapons facilities in Aldermaston and Burghfield could be travelling through up to 10 council areas in Mid and South Wales, including my own, Merthyr Tydfil. Given that the 25-strong road convoys are travelling up to the west coast of Scotland to the Trident bases at Coulport and Faslane, I find it very strange, if not bizarre, that they could make such a huge diversion and go past the likes of Cardiff, Bridgend, Neath and Swansea. In total, as a recently published report by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) has shown, nuclear weapons could be transported through the areas of 122 councils. This report has found 180 safety incidents involving such convoys since 2000. Thousands of people could be affected in the event of a major accident or malicious incident affecting such a convoy. And yet my own emergency planning officers and those in the nine other Welsh councils will never be told when the convoys go through their area and as such are not truly prepared for dealing with the consequences of a major accident. The public of Wales, England and Scotland are being put at risk by such road movements. I find it staggering that South Wales councils could be placed on a route between Berkshire and west Scotland, and would love to know the Ministry of Defence’s reasoning for this. The best solution, of course, to this is to work to get rid of the world’s stock of nuclear weapons and to cancel Trident replacement. Without that, we all remain at risk.
Western Mail 15 October 2016 read more »