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Anger over claims RAF Lakenheath could host US nuclear weapons

Getty Images Two F-15E Strike Eagles of the US Air Force line up to take off from RAF LakenheathGetty Images
RAF Lakenheath is home to USAF's 48th Fighter Wing and hosted nuclear weapons until 2008

Campaigners have urged the government to refuse the US any permission to base nuclear weapons in the UK again.

A US Air Force report showed plans to build a "surety dormitory" at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, which experts said implied a return of nuclear arms.

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) said it would be "beyond irresponsible" and put the UK at risk.

The Ministry of Defence and the Pentagon said they would not comment on the location of weapons.

US Air Force budget documents included a justification for a 144-bed dormitory "to house the increase in enlisted personnel as the result of the potential Surety Mission."

The word "surety" is often used by the US government to refer to the concept of ensuring American nuclear weapons are kept safe and secure.

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS), which first reported the plans, said they "strongly imply" the intention to re-establish nuclear arms at Lakenheath, which hosted them until 2008.

Jon Ironmonger/BBC Protestors at an event in Lakenheath, SuffolkJon Ironmonger/BBC
A protest was held outside the Suffolk base in 2022 over previous concerns nuclear weapons could return to the site

CND general secretary, Kate Hudson, said: "It's increasingly clear that Lakenheath is once again a vital cog in Washington's overseas nuclear machine.

"The deployment of the new B61-12 (gravity bombs) to Europe undermines any prospects for global peace and ensures Britain will be a target in a nuclear conflict between the US/NATO and Russia.

"It's beyond irresponsible that the UK government is allowing this deployment."

Construction of the $50m (£39.5m) building is due to begin in June 2024 and end in February 2026, the budget report said.

Jon Ironmonger/BBC Kate Hudson, General Secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, at Lakenheath, SuffolkJon Ironmonger/BBC
Kate Hudson, from the CND, said hosting US nuclear arms would be irresponsible

The Ministry of Defence, which owns the site, said it was unable to comment on US spending decisions and capabilities.

Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said: "It is US policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence or absence of nuclear weapons at any general or specific location."

RAF Lakenheath is home to USAF's 48th Fighter Wing, which consists of more than 4,000 military members and 1,500 civilians. Control of the base transferred from the RAF to USAF in 1948.

Last year more than 200 people protested outside the base after the US added the UK to a list of nuclear weapons storage site locations in Europe.

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