Edinburgh Peace and Justice Resource Centre

Originally posted to the old P & J website by Geoffrey Carnall

On the BBC’s ‘Today’ programme on 22nd January, Helena Kennedy spoke about the initiative to follow up the Power Inquiry: ‘Make it an Issue’. This was the latest phase of her concern to re-energise the democratic process, to re-connect people with politics. The cash-for-honours scandal had only reinforced the impression that people with money had far more influence than was good either for them or the wider community.

The following day there was an interview with a distinguished American physicist, Richard Garwin, who had designed the first hydrogen bomb. He was here to give evidence to the Parliamentary Defence Committee on Trident replacement. He made clear that the Government’s insistence on a decision now was at best extremely premature. Ministers spoke of the present submarines as having a 25-year life, but this was a minimum life, and there was no reason to suppose that, if the UK wanted to have nuclear weapons into the 2030s and 2040s the present batch would serve. Not that he wanted Britain or any other nation to have such weapons. He said that what was needed was a concerted effort to eliminate nuclear weapons, and this really would make the world more secure. At the time of writing it is too early to read about Dr Garwin’s actual appearance before the Defence Committee, but it sounds pretty devastating so far as the Government is concerned. Will it change their mind? Probably not, for reasons closely related to Helena Kennedy’s concerns.

In November last year, Murray Easton, head of the submarines division of BAE Systems, warned that same Defence Committee that if a decision to replace Trident submarines were not made soon, his company would begin to lose the skilled and experienced workers needed to do the job, with a catastrophic effect on the industry.

In effect, Mr Easton was saying that if the jobs were not available in the military sector, his staff would drift into more socially useful civilian work. Peace people are apt to deplore the failure to follow through on the defence diversification project initiated years ago by Lucas Aerospace workers. It is nice to learn that diversification can happen through the operation of market forces – no dramatic conversions, just an inexorable erosion.

But governments can intervene to control the market, and powerful players like BAE Systems can do great things. They were accused of bribery to secure a valuable contract from Saudi Arabia, accusations so substantial that the Serious Fraud Office launched an investigation. The Saudis were furious, BAE Systems was horrified at the probable loss of hundreds of jobs and millions of profit. BAE is on good terms with the Government: three times did the Government press the SFO to halt the investigation; three times did the Saudis do likewise. BAe Systems made representations only once, but the cumulative effect of seven petitions wore the SFO down: the investigation was halted, ‘in the wider public interest’.

BAE Systems needs the Trident replacement contract, so it will almost certainly get it. The Non-Proliferation Treaty is but a scrap of paper, tame Members of Parliament can be trusted to do as they are bid, Cardinals and Moderators can be ignored. As for the protesters at Faslane – words fail me. Of course it is just possible that the stench will become so overpowering that there will be trouble. Helena Kennedy may come into her own after all.