2 months ago
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Following the successful two-week peace walk and camp in July, Lakenheath Alliance for Peace (LAP) will have an ongoing presence at USAF Lakenheath. The base, the largest American air force base in the UK, is preparing to accept weapons of mass destruction once more.
LAP will hold a further 10-day peace camp next Easter, from 14th-25th April 2025, and monthly vigils in the meantime, from 12-2 on the last Saturday each month (except December).
The first of these will be on Saturday August 31st, noon till 2 pm outside the Main Gate to RAF Lakenheath on the A1065. The location is Brandon Rd, Lakenheath IP27 9PS
All are welcome to stand up and be counted.
The Alliance has delivered letters to the base commander and been welcomed by local people.
Lesley Grahame, former Green Party councillor, said:
“Nuclear weapons in our zone of interest carry a high risk of accident, make us a target for attack, and risk setting off a chain of catastrophic revenge events. The days of mutually assured destruction between just two nuclear powers are long gone. As well as US nuclear weapons in the US and in Europe, there are eight other nuclear weapon states, Russia, China, the UK, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel. People seeking multi-lateral nuclear disarmament are engaging in diplomacy through treaties, such as the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, yet the UK has boycotted this to date. We can only hope that the new Labour Government will reconsider.”
LAP has also worked with the NFLAs (Nuclear Free Local Authorities), also a LAP member, over emergency planning issues. They have real concerns about the possibility of an accident involving nuclear weapons at the base.
Richard Outram, NFLA Secretary, said:
“Whilst this might seem fanciful, two such accidents have already happened at Lakenheath in the past – the first of which, in 1956, prompted a USAF officer to say that an accident involving a nuclear bomb ten times more powerful than that dropped on Hiroshima had only been averted by ‘A combination of tremendous heroism, good fortune and the will of God’. The NFLAs are gravely concerned that the county may not have such good fortune third time lucky”
Concerns have been raised at a high level with the Suffolk Resilience Forum, and with the Ministry of Defence, asking that:
- Accident risks are recognised and actively considered by the Suffolk Resilience Forum and its partners.
- Emergency plans involving Forum partners and the US and British authorities be drawn up to respond to plausible accident scenarios and future exercises carried out ito test responses to these scenarios.
- The Forum and the Lakenheath base commanders are, as far as is practicable within the constraints of military security, committed to an ongoing dialogue with the local community and its elected representatives on emergency planning matters.
- Consideration will be given to the pre-distribution of Iodine tablets and the issue of instructions on evacuation procedures to the local population likely to be impacted by any accident.
These concerns have not been addressed.
For further information about the vigil please contact Lesley Grahame by email to lesley7railway@yahoo.co.uk
Useful websites:
Lakenheath Alliance for Peace https://lakenheathallianceforpeace.org.uk/
Nuclear Free Local Authorities https://www.nuclearpolicy.info/
Suffolk Resilience Forum https://suffolkprepared.co.uk/
United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs – information on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons https://disarmament.unoda.org/wmd/nuclear/tpnw/
You Tube footage of the Lakenheath Peace March and Camp, July 2024 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSSqXkzlw2c
