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Greenpeace scales Big Ben crane, urges Trident rethink
Greenpeace volunteers have scaled a crane next to Big Ben and hung a huge banner from it declaring 'TONY [heart] WMD'.
The protest comes as MPs prepare to vote tomorrow on whether to renew Britain's nuclear weapons system and commit Britain to nuclear arms for the next 50 years. The four volunteers aim to occupy the crane until the vote takes place. They hope to telephone as many MPs as possible urging them not to support new weapons of mass destruction.
One of the volunteers on the crane, Cat Dorey, said: "Trident is a cold war relic designed to destroy Russian cities. 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."
She continued: "The government promised a national debate on Trident but this is being rushed through quicker than a shotgun wedding. The real threat is climate change and the billions earmarked for Trident could help make Britain the world's first low carbon economy. We're phoning MPs from the crane and asking them to respect the will of the country and vote against Tony Blair's WMD programme."
A recent poll commissioned by Channel Four found that three quarters of the public oppose government replacing Trident now.
A report from Greenpeace released last week estimated the true cost of building a new generation of nuclear weapons to replace Trident will be at least £76bn and could rise as high as £100 billion. These figures contrast starkly with the £15-20bn figure the government has previously stated will be the cost of Trident replacement. The report details how government has spun the figures by only including the design and building costs of the submarines and not the far higher price of maintaining and developing the nuclear weapons system over its lifetime.
The campaign to oppose new nuclear weapons systems has received support across the political spectrum.
Kofi Annan says of Tony Blair's policy: "They should not imagine that this will be accepted as compatible with the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty."
Former shadow defence secretary Michael Ancram says: "The threat of using nuclear weapons is not only illogical but incredible& the need for genuinely independent alternative and flexible non-nuclear deterrence is if anything greater."
Professor Stephen Hawking says: "To replace Trident would make it more difficult to get arms reduction. It would also be a waste of money because there are no circumstances in which we would use it independently."
Mohammed ElBaradei, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said in London recently: "Britain cannot expect other countries to refrain from acquiring nuclear weapons if it upgrades its trident nuclear weapons system."
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The Trident tour finishes
Posted by bex on 16 March 2007.
Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog 
Sunrise over The Sunrise
© Greenpeace/Sumner
Blimey. I’m not sure how time has slipped past so fast but, after a five week frenzy of Faslane blockading, crane climbing, arrests, solitary confinement, losing the ship, getting it back again, bearing witness, gigs, press conferences, political events, rallies and general sleep deprivation, the Trident: we don’t buy it tour has just come to an end.
The Arctic Sunrise set sail for Scandinavia a couple of hours ago, cheered on from the quayside by a smattering of exhausted Greenpeace folk and watched by the police boat that inevitably appears every time the ship moves.
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The Trident vote is over but this is just the beginning...
Posted by simon on 15 March 2007.
Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog 
© Greenpeace/Davison
I wake up, my first decent lie-in since Christmas, and realise it's the 15th of March - the ides of March - not a good day for Julius Caesar who was assassinated in the Senate on this date in 44BC. And not a good day for that other megalomaniac with a receding hairline, Tony Blair. His attempts to quell the biggest domestic rebellion in 10 years failed miserably and now his plans to replace Trident have been utterly de-legitimised nationally and internationally.
Tony wears his heart on his sleeve, and it looks like he'll get his WMD
Posted by tracy on 14 March 2007.
Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog 
It's been a long day, so excuse the lame rhyme (above), I just couldn't stop myself. It's not that I'm giddy with excitement, it's all been rather anti-climatic really. We didn't expect the vote would be defeated, so there was no surprise when Blair got his way and the vote to replace Trident went through. Tony gets to go ahead and build his new weapon of mass destruction – the Blair Bomb, his legacy. But only because of help from the Tories. That some how feels hollow too. So I look elsewhere for inspiration.
“It’s not the end of the story by any means,” said Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn immediately following the vote. “This is a very big rebellion.”
Last minute lobby
Posted by tracy on 14 March 2007.
Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog
The government will be voting to build a new nuclear bomb today. Our climbers spent a cold night up the crane outside Big Ben, but they are still there trying to reach MPs as the arrive with their banner "Tony loves WMD".
There is already a massive police presence outside parliament and inside the corriors of power we're lobbying MPs to say no to new nuclear weapons. Throughout the day different groups will stage their own protests; CND, Faslane 365, Block the Builders, Rethink Trident and many more. Here are the first images back from the Rethink Trident Mps breakfast with Viven Westwood, Bianca Jagger and Annie Lennox.
You can join the rally at Parliament Square from 1pm to show your opposition to Trident. And send us your photos of the day at greenpeace@moblg.net
 Vivienne Westwood outside the Houses of Parliament this morning lobbying MPs to vote against Trident. |  Vivienne with Jon Trickett MP who sponsored the hugely important cross-party amendment to delay the decision on Trident. |
 Annie Lennox at the Rethink Trident group lobby at parliment this morning. |  Bianca Jagger with Joan Ruddoch at the Rethink Trident group lobby |
Critical mass at Parliament Square
Posted by tracy on 14 March 2007.
Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog
Some of our ship's crew and volunteers joined in the Critical Mass ride at Parliament Square as part of the protests.
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Come down to Parliament Square for the rally
Posted by tracy on 14 March 2007.
Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog
The rally in Parliament Square to show opposition to Trident will be on from 6 to 8pm - we're expecting the vote during that time.
Climbers are down and out
Posted by tracy on 14 March 2007.
Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog 
The two Greenpeace climbers who spent the night on the crane outside Big Ben came down about an hour ago. They were arrested but have now been released and just arrived back at the office. They say they're happy they got right out and they stink.
You can see more photos from the 30 hour-long occupation of the crane on Flickr
Protest at parliament continues
Posted by bex on 13 March 2007.
Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog 
Our climbers have been up a crane beside Big Ben for seven hours now - the banner’s looking big and beautiful in front of parliament, and the climbers have enough supplies to stay there until tomorrow afternoon’s vote.
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Opposition is growing
Posted by tracy on 13 March 2007.
Part of the Trident: we don't buy it tour blog
A strong rebellion against the government's proposal on Trident is growing amongst MPs. On Sunday the BBC reported that their poll indicated that two thirds of Labour MPs plan to vote against the government and oppose the Trident replacement. Yesterday Deputy leader of the Commons Nigel Griffiths resigned over the issue.
The public's view is shifting too. A poll conducted for More 4 showed that only 24% of the public supports the government's plans to replace Trident and 51% think that the final decision to replace the Trident nuclear weapons system should be made through a public referendum.
When asked what the greatest threat to our security is, only 7% said Iran, North Korea or Pakistan, while 58% said that climate change will be the greatest threat to our security in 20 years time.