BRITAIN:British prime minister Tony Blair was accused of "legacy building" yesterday as he confirmed his government's intention to build a new generation of nuclear missile submarines.
The charge came from Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell, while Conservative leader David Cameron backed Mr Blair's judgment that "it would be unwise and dangerous for Britain, alone of any of the nuclear powers, to give up its independent nuclear deterrent".
In a Commons statement Mr Blair promised "a very full process of consultation" about the government's White Paper on the replacement of the current Trident system, with a vote by MPs at its conclusion in three months time.
In an attempt to placate Labour critics, the prime minister also announced a 20 per cent cut in Britain's stockpile of nuclear warheads, while holding out the possibility that submarine numbers might be cut from four to three.
However with yesterday's formal cabinet approval, the endorsement of would-be-successor Gordon Brown, and the promise of Conservative support, Mr Blair's Labour, Liberal Democrat and nationalist opponents had little cause to doubt the final outcome.
Indeed Mr Cameron taunted the Labour left, telling Mr Blair he need make no concessions and was able to make "the right decisions" because of his party's backing.
Supporting both the timing and substance of the government's decision, the Tory leader said he was glad the issue was "so firmly part of a national political consensus."
Questioning why the decision was being "pushed through" now, and suggesting it could be effectively delayed until 2014, Sir Menzies asked: "Is this about Britain's interests or his (Mr Blair's) legacy?"
However, Mr Blair insisted that if initial steps towards maintaining the deterrent were not taken in 2007, they would "de facto" have decided the other way.
And he was adamant that the deterrent was both necessary to protect the UK from a possible future attack which might not extend to the US - and that it was, and would remain, firmly and completely under the control of future British prime ministers.
Ultimately, Mr Blair said, this was a judgment about possible risks to the country and its security, and the role of the deterrent in thwarting those risks.
"The government's judgment, on balance, is that though the Cold War is over, we cannot be certain in the decades ahead that a major nuclear threat to our strategic interests will not emerge; that there is also a new and potentially hazardous threat from states such as North Korea which claims already to have developed nuclear weapons, or Iran which is in breach of its non-proliferation duties; that there is a possible connection between some of those states and international terrorism; that it is noteworthy that no present nuclear power is or is even considering divesting itself of its nuclear capability; and that in these circumstances, it would be unwise for Britain, alone of any of the nuclear powers, to give up its independent nuclear deterrent," Mr Blair told the House.
While critics argue that the estimated cost - up to £25 billion - would be better spent countering terrorism, Mr Blair assured MPs this decision would not be at the expense of the needs of the UK's conventional forces.
The prime minister also stressed that, unlike other countries including Russia and France, Trident is Britain's sole nuclear deterrent.
And he emphasised that renewing it was fully compatible with Britain's obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. "We have the smallest stockpile of nuclear warheads amongst the recognised nuclear weapons states," said Mr Blair.
"Furthermore, we have decided, on expert advice, that we can reduce our stockpile of operationally available warheads to no more than 160, which represents a further 20 per cent reduction. Compared with previous plans, we will have reduced the number of such weapons by nearly half."