Jane – Page 3 – NukewatchUK

April Convoy heads to Coulport

A convoy was spotted on the A34 near Oxford on the morning of Tuesday April 25^th. It had not been loading up in Burghfield so must have left from AWE Aldermaston.
On the morning of Wed April 26^th it was seen on the M74 just south of Lockerbie and then again at lunchtime on the Haul Rd above Faslane shortly before arriving at Coulport.

It had travelled via Stirling and some other road users who were pulled over by the police took a film of it.

Later that day and during the following day there were reports of various of the convoy vehicles being seen heading south on their own.

March 2017 Convoy – stays until April!

A warhead convoy left Burghfield on the morning of Monday 20th March and went by way of the M4 and A34 onto the M40. It left at junc 10 and travelled along the A46 to the M69. Just as it joined the M69 it was very spread out the police halted all traffic in atrocious weather conditions. The convoy escort waved other traffic on and the convoy vehicles moved onto the hard shoulder to reform. It then turned off into Gamecock Barracks. After a break the convoy continued north on the M69 to join the M1 and arrive at RAF Leeming late afternoon.

On Tues 21st March it was picked up coming up the A68 onto the Edinburgh Bypass at about 2pm. It then turned off to go to Glencorse Barracks in Penicuik for a break. Rejoining the Edinburgh bypass at Lothianburn it went via the M8 & M9 to Stirling then turned onto the A811 towards Balloch. Heading up Loch Lomondside it turned off on the Haul road to arrive at Coulport around 6pm.
However on its last leg as it passed above Faslane it was briefly halted by members of Faslane Peace Camp. There were no arrests.

After a record two weeks stay at Coulport the convoy headed south again on the morning of Tues 4^th April travelling through Stirling to Edinburgh and a break at Glencorse Barracks before heading down the A68.

The following day April 5^th it was spotted on the A1 and then the M1 and was tracked from the A43 onto the M40 and then down the A34 to the M4 and into Burghfield.

There was a lot of social media activity including a tweet from Member of the Scottish Parliament Mark Ruskell.

A lunch date at Gamecock Barracks, Nuneaton?

A convoy left Burghfield on the morning on March 6^th and headed west on the M4 then up the A34 and onto the M40. Late morning it turned off on the A46 and went around the Coventry Eastern bypass before joining the M69. It turned off into Gamecock Barracks near Nuneaton for an hour at lunchtime. When it left again the convoy returned south on the same route to Burghfield arriving late afternoon.

Nuclear Information Service report on nuclear weapons accidents

‘Playing With Fire: Nuclear Weapons Incidents & Accidents in the UK’ is a new report by the Nuclear Information Service that discusses the accident record of the UK’s nuclear weapons programme over its 65 year history, looking across the full scope of the programme and describing the most significant incidents in detail. It includes 22 incidents that have taken place during the road transport of nuclear weapons, including vehicles overturning, road traffic accidents, and breakdowns. For more information and to download the full report see here.

NIS has also released a video telling the story of one of the case studies in the report. This is the story of when a truck containing two nuclear warheads skidded off an icy road and overturned, told by people who were there at the time and featuring news footage from the following day.

Convoy October 24th 2016

On Mon 24^th October 2016 a convoy was spotted heading north on the M6 and by mid-afternoon was in Preston. The following day, Tues 25^th it continued north via Stirling arriving at Coulport in mid-afternoon.

This convoy had a fast turn around and left again on Wed 26^th Oct. It passed through Stirling and the M80 to the M74 and south.

Campaigners Question Local Police Preparedness for Nuclear Convoy Incident

NUKEWATCH SCOTLAND

Press Release: 10th October 2016

CAMPAIGNERS QUESTION LOCAL POLICE PREPAREDNESS FOR NUCLEAR CONVOY INCIDENT

The citizen monitoring group Nukewatch, which observes and reports on the movement of nuclear weapons within the UK, has written to Scotland’s top police officer to express concern about the apparent unpreparedness of local police to respond to any incident involving the convoys. See letter text below.

The worry has arisen from recent conversations between campaigners and local police officers, as nuclear weapon convoys have been passing, which have indicated that the officers concerned are wholly unaware of the nature of the traffic and its attendant risks.

Nukewatch understands that local police are called to attend when convoy personnel notice protesters at the roadside or following the convoy in cars. Local traffic police can also be involved in traffic management as the convoys pass through.

In their letter to Chief Constable Philip Gormley the campaigners say:

“This is troubling on two counts. These officers could be attending an emergency situation involving a convoy and be completely unprepared, by their lack of specific knowledge and training, to take appropriate action. That is a question of critical competence. Secondly, they might be exposing themselves to particular and serious risks of which they had not been advised. That represents a serious failure of an employer’s duty of care to employees.”

David Mackenzie said:

“It is frankly astonishing that Police Scotland can be so complacent in the face of the serious and potentially catastrophic risks posed by the transport of nuclear warheads on public roads. It seems that they are content to let the MoD deal with any incident in spite of the fact that accident simulation exercises in the series Exercises Senator have repeatedly highlighted poor inter-agency co-ordination in acted-out scenarios. Under the Civil Contingencies Act (2004) so-called First Responders, such as the emergency and health services must carry out risk assessments of identified threats. It appears that Police Scotland are failing to comply with the Act.”

Contacts:

David Mackenzie 07876593016

Jane Tallents 07778267833

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

The Chief Constable

Police Scotland
PO Box 21629
STIRLING FK7 1EN

Dear Philip Gormley,

Police Scotland officers and nuclear weapon convoys

Nukewatch is a citizen monitoring group which observes and reports on the movement of nuclear weapons and weapon-related nuclear materials within the UK.

We have a particular concern to raise with you. During our observations of recent nuclear weapon convoys travelling to and from Coulport we have had roadside conversations with a number of Police Scotland officers who have attended as we watched the convoys pass or followed the convoys in our own vehicles. What appears to happen is that convoy personnel alert local police to our presence.

Our concern is that a number of these officers have been completely and genuinely unaware of the nature of the traffic. This is troubling on two counts. These officers could be attending an emergency situation involving a convoy and be completely unprepared, by their lack of specific knowledge and training, to take appropriate action. That is a question of critical competence. Secondly, they might be exposing themselves to particular and serious risks of which they had not been advised. That represents a serious failure of an employer’s duty of care to employees.

Does Police Scotland have any kind of process for giving all officers the essential information about nuclear weapon convoys? Does Police Scotland provide training to its officers on how to respond in the case of an emergency involving a nuclear weapon convoys, so that their actions will mesh effectively with those of the Ministry of Defence in the context of the LAESI guidelines?

We look forward to hearing from you

Nukewatch

Nuclear Weapons Convoy Stopped Twice!– Sept 2016

glencorse-cropped — Glencorse Barracks, Penicuik.

A convoy left Burghfield on the morning of 14^th Sept and went east to the M25 and then north on the A1. By late afternoon it turned off the A1 into RAF Leeming for the night. On the 15^th it continued on the A1 stopped for a break at RAF Boulmer and then heading to the Edinburgh bypass. After turning off for a break at Glencorse Barracks it continued on the Edinburgh bypass and the M8 and M9 to Stirling.

brian-at-stirling — Brian Quail being removed from under convoy escort vehicle.

As it left the motorway and passed below Stirling Castle it was halted by two protesters. Brian Quail and Alasdair Ibbotson calmly slowed one vehicle then stopped the one after it. As Alasdair lay in the road Brian wriggled underneath it. It took 15 minutes to get them removed and the convoy rolling again. Video here

As it emerged at the other end of the Stirling road (A811) at Balloch it was again halted, this time by two members of Faslane Peace Camp. Video here. Eventually it made it to Coulport around 7pm.

balloch-stop-1 — Faslane Peace Campers halt convoy in Balloch

It left again to travel south on the morning of 19 Sept, heading through Stirling and down the M80 to join the M74. After Penrith it turned East along the A66 towards Scotch Corner and the A1.

It was back in Burghfield on the morning of 21 Sept

Press coverage

STV news
Scotsman
Telegraph
Common Space
The National
Daily Mail online

Nuclear Weapons Convoy – July 2016

douglas-pic-1 — Warhead convoy on M74 near Abington

A convoy left Burghfield in the early hours of 7^th July and headed up the west route via the M6 and then the M74, passing Abington at 1.40pm . It continued on the M80 to Stirling for 4.30pm and arrived at Coulport at about 6pm.

les-balloch-cropped — Convoy passing through Balloch 7 July 2016

It left Coulport again on morning of the 11^th July and then travelled through Stirling to the Edinburgh bypass where it turned off for lunch at Glencorse barracks. It then returned to the bypass and took the A68 south eventually getting to Burghfield by 6am the next day.