‘Trident malfunction cannot be covered up’ – Ritchie

SDLP South Down MP Margaret Ritchie has demanded the British MOD explains why it hid a Trident missile malfunction only weeks before a Westminster vote on renewing what she described as the ‘outdated cold war relic’.

“The SDLP has consistently opposed the British Government’s investment in a stockpile of weapons of mass destruction while raining down cuts to health service spend, education spend and social security spend,” Ritchie said.

“If there is evidence of a malfunction in Britain’s Trident nuclear missile system, it cannot be covered up or dissembled. The Ministry of Defence needs to come forward with information about this incident and come clean about why it attempted to suppress it ahead of a major Westminster vote on renewing Trident.

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“How can any MP have confidence in the Trident system or in the valueless word of the MOD after this? Be under no illusion, the attempt to conceal this malfunction was a deliberate tactic to shore up a Commons vote.

Ritchie added, “The SDLP will continue to oppose the British Government’s fixation with investing in a stockpile of weapons of mass destruction while they continue to rain down cuts on health, education and social security spending. This government cannot continue parading like an imperial power while the public suffers devastating austerity.”

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