Greenpeace scales parliament
Tuesday, 13 Mar 2007 10:39
Greenpeace aim to remain on the crane until the vote tomorrow
Greenpeace campaigners scaled a crane next to parliament this morning and unveiled a banner in protest at the government's plans to replace the UK's Trident nuclear weapons system.
Four activists dropped the vast banner reading "Tony 'heart' WMD [weapons of mass destruction]".
With MPs voting tomorrow on Trident replacement, the campaign group hopes to encourage them to turn against the measure.
While on the crane, which they hope to occupy until tomorrow, the climbers will call as many MPs as possible to urge them not to support Trident's replacement.
According to Greenpeace, the cost of building new nuclear weapons to replace Trident will be at least £76 billion and could rise to £100 billion.
"Trident is a cold war relic designed to destroy Russian cities," said Cat Dorey, one of the volunteers on the crane.
"If MPs buckle under pressure from Tony Blair and vote to renew it, the repercussions will be felt around the world. We can't oppose proliferation of WMD if we're building them at home."
An emergency rally is being hosted by Greenpeace tomorrow between 13:00 and 20:00 GMT in Parliament Square in protest at the vote.
On Sunday a poll conducted by the BBC suggested that a backbench Labour rebellion against Trident could unsettle the government's nuclear plans; of the 101 Labour MPs who responded to the survey just 22 said they would be backing their party's official policy, while 64 said they opposed the government's Trident proposals.
But it is likely that Tony Blair will not lose the vote as the Conservatives have said they will back the government's plans.
Yesterday the deputy leader of the Commons, Nigel Griffiths, quit as a minister due to his opposition to Trident, following on from the weekend's revelation that ministerial aide Jim Devine and Labour party chairwoman Hazel Blears' parliamentary private secretary, Stephen Pound, would also quit in opposition to the vote.