Trident cuts will reduce government spending confirms thinktank.

by Katie Murdoch

The government should scale back the UK's Trident nuclear deterrent to save money, a think tank has said.

The Royal United Services Institute has called for government ministers to consider abolishing the requirement of always having a nuclear submarine on patrol at sea. Defence Secretary Liam Fox said that the four submarines could be cut to three.

The Ministry of Defence says it is currently reviewing the Institute's suggestions but remains committed to retaining the nuclear defense equipment.

The call from the Royal United Services Institute comes after the MoD is having to face possible cuts in its budget of between 10% and 20%.

The Royal United Services Institute paper was written by Professor Malcolm Chalmers, the former adviser to Jack Straw and Margaret Beckett when they were foreign secretaries. The paper suggests abandoning the 'continuous at-sea deterrence' could produce "significant financial savings".

The paper continues: "There is now a stark gap between the assumptions on which planning for the UK's conventional and nuclear forces, respectively, are based."