Draft press release: Don’t put Britain on the nuclear front line Day of Action

Feel free to use this draft press release to advertise your group’s actions. For any queries please contact pressoffice@cnduk.org.

‘Keep us off the nuclear front line’: [local CND group] to protest return of US nukes to Britain

[Local CND group] will hold a [type of event here] on Saturday, 11 May, in response to the mounting evidence that US nuclear weapons will be stationed in Britain for the first time since 2008.

[Details about local action taking place]

The event is part of a nationwide day of action by CND groups, to raise awareness about ongoing and planned construction works at RAF Lakenheath – a US air base in Suffolk – readying it for the deployment of the new B61-12 guided nuclear bomb.

If allowed to go ahead, this deployment would further increase already fraught nuclear tensions. Already, Russia has responded to the news by stationing some of its own nuclear weapons in Belarus. We cannot allow these tit-for-tat measures to continue. Any war between the US/NATO and Russia would quickly lead to nuclear use, and Britain would be firmly on the front line of any nuclear exchange.

Since nuclear sites and other military bases are dotted across Britain, Lakenheath would not be the only target. This would result in a nationwide humanitarian crisis that Britain could never be prepared for. If one Russian warhead, such as an SS-25 or SS-27, was dropped on [local place here], there would be at least [X casualties] (use Nuke Map calculator here, input 800 into warhead yield field). The ensuing collapse of the NHS and other emergency services would lead to many more suffering and dying from serious burns and radiation sickness.

This type of crisis is rarely acknowledged by supporters of nuclear weapons and their use, but the public is increasingly aware of this reality and the ramifications of tying Britain to US foreign policy. A poll last August found that 59% of the public were opposed to the deployment of US nuclear weapons to Britain.

[Quote from local CND groups]

CND General Secretary Kate Hudson said:
“National awareness of the return of US nuclear bombs to Britain is growing, with more and more people questioning the clandestine nature of the US-UK special nuclear relationship. It’s shameful that this government continues to take the public for fools. This deployment must be opposed and we encourage everyone to take part in local actions on 11 May.”

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