Plans for a full parliamentary debate next week on further development of the upgraded Trident nuclear weapons have been delayed pending the selection of a new prime minister, the Standard can reveal.
According to several defence sources, if David Cameron had won the Brexit referendum he planned to hold the debate as the “main gate” contract is placed to start building the four new giant Successor submarines that will contain the weapons.
The debate is now not likely before the autumn and could be pushed back to the end of the year.
In last year’s Strategic Defence and Security Review, £30 billion had been allocated for the new subs, with a contingency allowance for £11 billion more if needed.
Though the debate has slipped off the parliamentary calendar, work on the submarines and the development of the Trident system still goes ahead — and already £3.5 billion has been spent on the new system.
The first Successors were due in service by 2028, when the current Vanguard class subs are decommissioned. The Government has tried to move the start date to 2031, with the Successors operational for at least 32 years.
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