CNA Staff, Mar 17, 2021 / 12:00 pm
English Catholic bishops signed a statement Tuesday calling the U.K. government’s plans to increase its nuclear weapons stockpile a “retrograde step.”
Bishop Declan Lang and Bishop William Kenney joined leaders of six other Christian communities in criticizing the announcement that Britain would lift the cap on the number of Trident nuclear warheads it can stockpile.
The decision to raise the number of warheads by more than 40%, to 260, is part of the government’s integrated review of security, defense, development and foreign policy, unveiled on March 16.
The U.K. had previously signalled that it would reduce its stockpile to 180 warheads by the mid-2020s.