‘Tactical nuclear weapons are the logical solution’

Last week's Strategic Defence Review saw the Government lay out its 10-year vision for the military with plans to raise spending on the armed forces to 3% of GDP in the next parliament.

- James Knuckey

With the war in Ukraine, conflict in Gaza, threats from pariah states and a hostile China, the world is a more dangerous and volatile place than since the end of the Second World War.

This week the Express launches its Defending The Nation series with a deep-dive into the state of our forces and their ability to defend us in a new era. Today we look at the state of the UK's nuclear deterrent.

THE nation faces a “nuclear conundrum” and must change its strategy to match Russia, a retired British Army colonel has warned.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, an expert in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) warfare, says reintroducing tactical nuclear weapons, which have a lower, but still powerful, yield, is a “logical solution”.

The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) suggested the UK could purchase F-35A jets capable of firing the weapons.

Mr de Bretton-Gordon, a former commanding officer of both British and NATO CBRN units, said this could “redress the [nuclear] balance” amid rising tensions with Russia and concerns over the US commitment to European security.

He said: “The great reason the deterrent works is it’s in balance, it’s in equilibrium.

“The Russians know the West has exactly or virtually the same amount of nuclear weapons and mutually assured destruction and all that sort of stuff. However, the situation is changing.

“We've got an American president who would probably only press the nuclear button if a nuclear weapon were fired at mainland USA.

“That leaves Europe in unequilibrium, and that’s what is dangerous.” He added: “There is confusion over the nuclear peace, and there is an imbalance in the fact that there are none [tactical nuclear weapons]. The logical solution is to reintroduce tactical weapons to our arsenal, which we gave up in 1998.”

The UK and France are the sole nuclear powers on the continent.