The US is going to store its nukes in the UK again – but people are pushing back

CND general secretary Kate Hudson will address a rally outside the main gate of the US-controlled RAF Lakenheath airbase in Suffolk on Saturday 20 July, in opposition to the return of US nuclear weapons to Britain.

Lakenheath to host US nuclear weapons

As BBC News reported:

Plans to deploy American nuclear weapons to an airbase in Suffolk have progressed, according to a US Department of Defence (DoD) notice.

A contract , externalto build shelters to protect troops that would defend storage facilities at RAF Lakenheath has been awarded.

The document states the work was in preparation for the base’s “upcoming nuclear mission”.

The US Air Force (USAF) has yet to respond to a request for comment.

The Ministry of Defence said there was a longstanding agreement among NATO partners not to comment on the location of nuclear weapons.

In March 2023, a document, external from the US Office of the Under Secretary of Defense disclosed how $50m (£39m) had been earmarked to build a facility known as a “Surety Dormitory” at RAF Lakenheath.

This phrase is understood to refer to nuclear weapons storage, external.

The Canary has previously covered CND and other group’s objections to the plans – with a legal challenge being launched to it. Now, people have taken their objections to US nukes on UK soil one step further.

A peace camp

A 24/7 vigil and peace camp was established outside the main gate of the base on Monday 15 July by members of the Lakenheath Alliance for Peace after a three-day march from Norwich; the camp will run until Thursday 25 July:

Tents are up! The @LakenheathAfP peace camp and 24/7 vigil is live outside RAF Lakenheath. Activists will be protesting the return of US nuclear weapons for ten days so go and visit if you can.

Programme of events: https://t.co/DkTYcmZM0R pic.twitter.com/8fxitsWjpT

— CND (@CNDuk) July 15, 2024

Predictably, military police were not too far behind:

https:/twitter.com/LakenheathAfP/status/1813511819472109936

CND groups and members from across Britain will be among supporters joining the rally on 20 July, which will begin at 12 noon and run until 2:30pm. A full programme of events can be found here.

The rally comes after Hudson gave evidence to the Undercover Policing Inquiry on Monday. CND is a ‘core participant’ in the Inquiry, owing to the fact that it was infiltrated by undercover police officers during the 1980s at the height of CND’s mass campaigning against US cruise missiles in Britain.

This activity included the setting up of peace camps and the use of non-violent direct action (NVDA) by campaigners at bases like Greenham Common.

While British intelligence reported early in the 1980s that CND did not pose a threat to national security, evidence produced at the Inquiry exposed “a clear and deeply alarming use of political undercover policing by the then Conservative government” and the “most explicit example of subverting parliamentary democracy uncovered” by the inquiry so far.

Taking decisive action at Lakenheath

CND general secretary Kate Hudson said:

Having taken decisive action to stop the outbreak of nuclear war in the 1980s, Greenham Common women are among those protesting against the return of US nuclear weapons to Britain.

Peace camps and NVDA are important parts of the anti-nuclear movement and have long been effective in raising awareness of nuclear dangers. Peace camps form a rallying point for all those who favour peace over war and CND encourages everyone to come and visit the camp for Saturday’s rally.

CND calls on the new British government to stop hiding behind the tired excuse of neither confirming nor denying the presence of NATO nuclear weapons in this country. It’s time for a new agenda for peace, which starts with publicly refusing the US permission to host their weapons of mass destruction in Britain.

Featured image via CND