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CND shines spotlight on nuclear cover-up of US bombs in Britain with blockade of RAF Lakenheath, 26 April

23 Apr 25 https://cnduk.org/cnd-shines-spotlight-on-nuclear-cover-up-of-us-bombs-in-britain-with-blockade-of-raf-lakenheath-26-april/

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament will be shining a spotlight on the British government’s ongoing cover-up of plans for a US nuclear weapons deployment to Britain, during a blockade of the main gate of RAF Lakenheath on Saturday, 26 April.
 
Campaigners will be joined by ‘Donald Trump’ and ‘Keir Starmer’ along with replicas of the B61-12 guided nuclear bomb. CND activists are coming from across the country to take part in the blockade of the main gate of the base from 12 noon. 
 
•    Saturday, 26 April
•    Blockade starts at 12 noon 
•    RAF Lakenheath Gate 1, Brandon Road, Suffolk, IP27 9PN

The blockade takes place on the final day of the Lakenheath Alliance for Peace* peace camp, which has seen a continuous presence of campaigners outside the main gate of the base since 14 April, as well as events highlighting Lakenheath’s role in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, the role of the military in climate breakdown, and NATO’s nuclear network in Europe.
 
The blockade comes as CND’s lawyers forced the Ministry of Defence to declassify a significant nationwide exemption certificate, issued in March 2021 by former Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, on the grounds of ‘national security’. The document shockingly exempts US Visiting Forces from adhering to British nuclear safety regulations at its bases across Britain, which includes RAF Lakenheath. 
 
CND is calling on PM Keir Starmer to come clean about this cover-up and to publicly announce that US nuclear weapons will not be deployed to Britain. 
 
CND General Secretary Sophie Bolt said:

“Trump’s reckless ‘America First’ agenda is increasing international tensions every day.  Siting US nuclear bombs in Britain will put us on the frontline of any military confrontation. The British government needs to step back from its so-called ‘special relationship’ with the US and refuse to host these deadly bombs.  The US has poured millions of dollars into upgrading the base in preparation for siting new nuclear bombs. Yet the government refuses to come clean. 
 
“RAF Lakenheath has a history of near nuclear accidents which were covered up for decades. The best way to protect people in East Anglia and across the country is to not have nuclear weapons in the first place. With nuclear dangers on the rise, the presence of US nuclear weapons in Britain makes us a target in the event of a nuclear war – with catastrophic consequences. Any accidents involving a nuclear weapon would have a devastating environmental and humanitarian impact which no amount of drilling could prepare us for. CND is calling on everyone who is concerned about this to join us at the blockade on RAF Lakenheath’s main gate this Saturday, 26 April.”

April 25, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Events