MoD Police cuts put security of nuclear defence system at risk, warns union chief
GETTY Cuts to MoD Police put Britain’s nuclear weapons at risk, warns union chief
Defence Police Federation chairman Eamon Keating will warn that the proposed £12.5million cuts should send a “chill down our spines” because they put money ahead of national security. MoD Police are all firearm-trained and protect sites including HM Naval Base Clyde in Scotland, the home port of the Royal Navy’s multi-billion pound submarines carrying nuclear missiles.
In the wake of last month’s Manchester bombing, MoD Police officers were deployed to help the civilian police. But Mr Keating will tell the DFP’s annual conference at Stansted Airport in Essex that the cuts will slash the force from a supposed level of 2,600 to fewer than 2,300 - or a one in 10 cut to the number of MoD Police firearm pots. Mr Keating will say: “If this reset goes forward in order to meet an arbitrarily imposed saving set by the Department on our Force, then security will be reduced, the risk of terrorist or criminal attack will be increased, and the safety of those we protect - both within the Department and within the Nation as a whole - will be put at risk.
These plans will reduce our numbers even further Chairman Eamon Keating
“In the current climate, where the threat levels are increasing and we have seen three terrorist attacks over the past 12 weeks, where response is limited and its sustainability – nationally – is under question, this type of decision is outrageous and cannot go unchecked.” Mr Keating says that over his career he has seen the MoD Police numbers cut by 50 per cent . He will say: “I can tell you with absolute certainty – these plans will reduce our numbers even further.
10 facts about Trident nuclear weapons Wed, July 20, 2016 As MPs vote to renew the UK's Trident weapons system, we look at the facts about the nuclear weapon. Play slideshow PA 1 of 10 The UK's Vanguard fleet of four submarines carrying Trident nuclear missiles are due to become obsolete by the end of 2020
"A ‘reset’ cannot be in the interest of national security.” He will add: “After a decade of budget and personnel cuts, it beggars belief the MoD would demand a further £12.5 million from the police force entrusted with guarding Trident. “And it’s simply unacceptable for the MoD Police leadership to find this saving by shifting the goalposts and imposing a real-terms cut in our number of officers.
GETTY Chairman Eamon Keating warned that the £12.5m cuts should send a ‘child down our spine’
"We need to be very clear that, at a time of significant threat, this represents a reduction in the country’s armed policing capacity and is damaging to public safety and national security. “This ‘reset’ is an ill-considered decision that prioritises cost over security, and makes no sense given the financial value of the assets we protect.
GETTY MoD Police protect sites including HM Naval Base Clyde where where trident is based