Investigate UK’s Criminal Conspiracy to Commit War Crimes, Demand ‘Alternative Nobel’ Laureates

Thirty-seven Laureates of the Right Livelihood Award have demanded that the evidence pointing to a criminal conspiracy in the UK’s nuclear defence be investigated and prosecuted.

Ten years since the then Prime Minister Tony Blair announced plans for a new class of nuclear missile submarines, detailed computerised plans to intentionally use nuclear weapons in disproportionate attacks around densely populated areas have been unearthed, which point to a conscious plan to commit war crimes, notes the Public Interest Statement signed by the Laureates, including US whistleblower Daniel Esllberg, Italian surgeon and founder of EMERGENCY Gino Strada, and human rights advocate Bianca Jagger.

The Laureates from 28 countries have spoken in support of five Citizens’ Groups in England and Wales that have sought to bring this evidence to UK Courts with the landmark Public Interest Case Against Trident (PICAT).

Launched by UK Right Livelihood Laureate Trident Ploughshares, PICAT aims to prosecute the Office of the UK’s Secretary of State for Defence for criminal conspiracy to commit war crimes, and thus to disarm the UK’s nuclear weapons system.

Angie Zelter, founder of Trident Ploughshares, stated, “It is essential in a democracy for citizens to be able to challenge the legality of government policies, especially when there are grounds for believing that war crimes are being planned in contravention of international humanitarian laws. We believe that if the UK courts are given the chance to examine the current defence policies along with the current nuclear weapons arsenal then they will be found to be unlawful. If that were to happen then the ground would be laid for immediate nuclear disarmament.”

Consent to prosecute rests with UK’s Attorney General, and the Laureates are “gravely concerned” that “the Attorney-General will deny his consent asserting that it is not in the ‘public interest’ to permit such a prosecution.”

The Laureates have called upon “those representing the conscience of peace-loving peoples of the world” to declare that it is not merely in ‘public interest’ that such criminal nuclear defence policies are investigated and adjudicated – but rather that it is a matter of extreme necessity in the interests of long-term survival of humanity to do so.

For more information, please contact:

Angie Zelter, Trident Ploughshares, phone +44(0)1547-520929 or email   picat@tridentploughshares.org

About the Right Livelihood Award

The Right Livelihood Award was established in 1980 to “honour and support courageous people and organisations offering visionary and exemplary solutions to the root causes of global problems”. It has become widely known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’ and there are now 166 Laureates from 68 countries. In addition to presenting the annual awards, the Right Livelihood Award Foundation supports its Laureates, particularly those who may be in danger due to the nature of their work. Jakob von Uexkull, a Swedish-German professional philatelist, sold his business to provide the original funding. Since then, the awards have been financed by individual donors.