UK nuclear weapons catastrophe making

The report contends that the UK's Trident nuclear weapons system poses an unacceptable risk to human civilisation, arguing that its use would be 'both genocidal and suicidal'. It highlights that a single Trident submarine carries enough firepower to cause over 10 million civilian casualties and trigger a 'nuclear winter' that could threaten 2 billion people with starvation. The authors argue that the probability of unintentional use is 'not negligible' and that the system's cost—estimated up to £100bn over its lifetime—diverts essential funds from health, welfare, and climate change mitigation. The document concludes that the UK should cancel Trident replacement, remove weapons from continuous patrol, and support an international treaty to ban nuclear weapons.

• The use of a single UK Trident submarine, carrying 40 nuclear warheads, could result in at least 10 million and up to 20 million civilian casualties across 10-20 large cities, while also hitting 20 military targets.
• The detonation of as few as 100 Hiroshima-sized weapons—representing about one third of the firepower of one Trident submarine—could cause global weather disruption for 7-10 years, potentially leading to the starvation of approximately 2 billion vulnerable people, particularly in Africa.
• The risk of unintentional nuclear use is significant, with historical evidence suggesting a 'near miss' occurred on average every three years between 1962 and 2002.
• The total lifetime cost of replacing the Trident system is likely to approach £100bn, including £19-25bn for Trident Mk-II and annual running costs of £2-2.5bn.
• The UK's nuclear posture is described as destabilising because submarine-based missiles like Trident can launch surprise attacks with very short warning periods, and the UK is one of only four powers keeping weapons in a 'ready-to-fire' state.
• The report recommends that the UK cancel Trident replacement, remove warheads from continuous patrol and place them in storage, and support a new international treaty to ban nuclear weapons, similar to bans on chemical and biological weapons.

APA

Webber, P., & Parkinson, S. (2015). UK nuclear weapons catastrophe making. Scientists for Global Responsibility. https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/uk-nuclear-weapons-catastrophe-making

Chicago

Webber, Philip, and Stuart Parkinson. UK nuclear weapons catastrophe making. Scientists for Global Responsibility, 2015. https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/uk-nuclear-weapons-catastrophe-making.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Webber |first1=Philip |last2=Parkinson |first2=Stuart |title=UK nuclear weapons catastrophe making |publisher=Scientists for Global Responsibility |date=6 August 2015 |url=https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/uk-nuclear-weapons-catastrophe-making |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{webber2015nuclear, author = {Webber, Philip and Parkinson, Stuart}, title = {{UK nuclear weapons catastrophe making}}, institution = {Scientists for Global Responsibility}, year = {2015}, month = aug, url = {https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/uk-nuclear-weapons-catastrophe-making}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }