Campaigners say east could become 'a target' as a dozen nuclear bomb fighter jets set for RAF Marham
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the government's purchase of a dozen American F-35A jets, a variation of the F-35Bs the UK already uses, will be based at RAF Marham in west Norfolk.
A spokesperson for the MoD refused to confirm or deny, as is government policy, whether nuclear weapons would also be housed there.
The announcement has been welcomed by some as offering job security for the base, but anti-nuclear campaigners said they feared the consequences.
Sue Wright, chair of the Norwich and District branch for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said that with a refuelling station at RAF Mildenhall, the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk may be vulnerable.
"I am very concerned about it, it definitely does make us a target," she told ITV News Anglia.
"I've heard people say 'if it lands us on, no problem, we'll be destroyed'. There will be a certain area where everyone will die, but the surrounding area many people will die after a very long time.
"Nuclear weapons are not the answer, nuclear weapons can destroy the world."
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, speaking at a NATO summit, said it was 'the biggest strengthening of the UK's nuclear posture in a generation' and would see the UK join Nato's airborne nuclear mission.
Currently the UK's only nuclear weapons are submarine-based.
Defence Secretary John Healey said the decision followed a strategic defence review that 'confirmed we face new nuclear risks, with other states increasing, modernising and diversifying their nuclear arsenals'.
The news of the new aircraft and its potential to create more jobs in the area was welcomed by King's Lynn and West Norfolk councillor Pallavi Devulapalli, who said: "I welcome any investment in Marham as an airbase to secure it's sustainability and its future.
"It's a very important part of the local area and it provides a great boost to the local economy. We value it."
While the aircraft would belong to the UK, the weapons on board would be American B61-12 bombs.
The announcement was made at a meeting of NATO members at The Hague, where Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, along with his European counterparts, promised to increased spending on defence to 4.1% of GDP within two years and 5% by 2035.
It comes as leaders observe a tentative ceasefire between Israel and Iran in the Middle East after 12 days of intense fighting and the Russian invasion of Ukraine which began in 2022.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Peaceful ‘pink protest' outside migrant hotel hijacked by masked men
Violent masked men have hijacked a peaceful protest outside a migrant hotel in which women in pink danced a conga. More than 100 demonstrators gathered on Sunday outside the Britannia Hotel in London's Canary Wharf to oppose the use of the four-star accommodation to house asylum seekers. Video showed female protesters dressed in pink performing a cheerful conga as they waved England flags. But the demonstration was soon taken over by a gang of masked men who swarmed the crowd, set off smoke bombs and tried to charge the fence surrounding the hotel before arrests were made. They were also heard chanting 'Keir Starmer's a w----r'. Sunday's protest was the latest in a series of demonstrations over the use of hotels to house asylum seekers, including protests and counter-protests outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in Islington on Saturday which led to clashes with police. Smiling as they sang, the conga demonstrators held a banner which said: 'Protecting women and children. It's not far right, it's just right.' One of the protesters was dressed in a T-shirt that depicted the Prime Minister as 'Keir Stalin', with a hammer and sickle, the communist symbol. Lisa, one of the protesters who was dressed in pink, said the protest had been organised by the local community to 'protect our women and kids'. 'We don't want sexual assaults, rapes and robberies in our community. We need proper detention centres and to deport them,' she said. Arrests and chants of 'send them home' Another demonstrator, Kelly, said the reason for dressing in pink was to send a message about 'women and unity'. But then chants of 'send them home' broke out while one man rattled the metal fence outside the hotel in full view of police officers. Tourists, shoppers and guests at a nearby hotel stopped to take pictures of the demonstration. Protesters jeered at people going in and out of the hotel, while at least one man was detained after an angry confrontation with officers. Onlookers chanted 'shame' as he was carried away. Tower Hamlets council was recently informed by the Home Office that it intended to use the hotel to house asylum seekers. In the early hours of Saturday morning, a coachload of men entered the Britannia Hotel, but it is unclear if they were migrants. On Sunday, a food delivery believed to be from Nando's was made to the hotel, which led to a number of boos from protesters. The Home Office would not confirm the identity of the men on the coach, but said in a statement: 'Since this Government took office, we have taken immediate action to fix the asylum system, removing more than 35,000 people with no right to be here in our first year.' Hotel protests spreading On Saturday, the Metropolitan Police made nine arrests after rival groups gathered outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in Islington, north London. A protest and counter-protest also took place in Newcastle city centre outside the New Bridge Hotel and four people were arrested on suspicion of public order offences, Northumbria Police said. Scotland Yard said plans were in place to 'respond to any protest activity in the vicinity of other hotels in London being used to accommodate asylum seekers'. Elsewhere, Essex Police placed a number of restrictions on a planned protest in Epping on Sunday evening. The force ordered that the demonstration should finish by 8.30pm and must take place in designated areas outside the Bell Hotel, which has been the focus of a series of protests over the last few weeks. Police have also banned face coverings until 3am on Monday and have the power to direct anyone committing or suspected of committing anti-social behaviour to leave the area until 8am on Monday.
Metro
an hour ago
- Metro
Anti-migrant mob surround Uber Eats rider to stop delivery to Canary Wharf hotel
A takeaway delivery driver was forced to cancel an order for refugees living behind a police barricade after a booing mob surrounded him. The Uber Eats rider was given a police escort to try and get to through the protesters guarding the Britannia Hotel in Canary Wharf on Sunday evening. But the baying mob stood in his way and he was forced to turn back with the Five Guys order under police protection as the anti-migrant protesters chanted 'scum' and 'go away'. It came after a flash mob of young men in balaclavas descended on the protest at migrants living in the 4-star hotel. Setting off red and white flares and chanting 'England' and 'Keir Starmer is a w****' repeatedly, the group struggled to break through police lines to join the other peaceful protesters, including local mothers and children listening to God Save The Queen on boomboxes. Chants of 'send them home' broke out while one man rattled the metal fence outside the hotel in full view of police officers. One guest at the hotel could be seen in a facemask sitting on the front steps staring at the angry mob on the other side of a chain link fence. A group of women, all dressed in pink, adopted a Just Stop Oil-like sit-in protest in the road outside the hotel. Protesters booed others going in and out of the building as eggs were reportedly dropped from surrounding towers on them forcing the group to briefly flee. At least one man was detained after an angry confrontation with officers. Onlookers chanted 'shame' as he was carried away. It is the latest in a series of demonstrations over the use of hotels to house asylum seekers. On Saturday, the Metropolitan Police made nine arrests after rival groups gathered outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in Islington, north London. A protest and counter-protest also took place in Newcastle outside the New Bridge Hotel and four people were arrested on suspicion of public order offences, Northumbria Police said. More Trending Scotland Yard said plans were in place to 'respond to any protest activity in the vicinity of other hotels in London being used to accommodate asylum seekers'. Elsewhere, Essex Police placed a number of restrictions on a planned protest in Epping on Sunday evening. The force ordered that the demonstration should finish by 8.30pm and must take place in designated areas outside the Bell Hotel, which has been the focus of a series of protests over the last few weeks. Police have also placed requirements on the removal of face coverings until 3am on Monday and have the power to direct anyone committing or suspected of committing anti-social behaviour to leave the area until 8am on Monday.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on an EU army: leadership and unity remain elusive
The Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, called for the creation of a European army earlier this year, suggesting that, this time, the continent might finally be serious. Defence budgets are rising. Threats are mounting. The US is distracted. Surely now is the moment. Except, of course, it isn't. For all the political soundbites that rattle sabres with increasing confidence, Europe is probably no closer to fielding a unified military force than it was when the French rejected the European Defence Community in 1954. The problem is not one of capacity. Europe, including the UK, collectively boasts about 1.5m active military personnel, and some of the world's most successful defence firms. The problem, as ever, is politics. Or more precisely: who leads? Germany, claiming a Zeitenwende (turning point), and asking the EU to exempt military investment from budget rules, might be the frontrunner. Poland is spending more as a share of GDP than anyone. The French would like to think they would be at the front of any queue. But their Gaullist, unilateral instincts run deep. Italy has industrial knowhow but lacks the economic heft. Post-Brexit, the UK is building bridges with the EU's military powers but it still sees itself as Nato's keystone. And the Baltic states? They want no European project that might scare off Washington. Even defining a European army is difficult. Would it be a single force under the EU flag, combining the 27 national armed forces of the EU members into one common force? Or something looser, to keep Irish and Austrian neutrality intact? Could it be a smaller European intervention force? Or a joint effort by regional groupings in a new hat? The short answer is no one can agree on anything but disagreement. Squabbling might not be the best response to an increasingly assertive, hawkish and unpredictable Russian giant. Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine made territorial defence a pressing concern. Suddenly, Europe remembered why armies exist. Brussels pins its hopes of an industrial renaissance on a five-year rearmament plan that is meant to reduce reliance on US contractors. European firms like Rheinmetall and MBDA are scaling up, but the economies of scale found in the US military industrial complex elude the continent. Everyone wants to protect their local champion. No wonder the bloc has appointed a commissioner for defence whose role is about overseeing the companies making drones, shells and missiles – not the armed forces per se. A Gallup poll in 45 countries last year showed deep ambivalence toward war among Europeans. Four of the five least willing to fight were in the EU – including Spain, Germany, and Italy, where only 14% said they'd take up arms. Even in frontline states like Poland and Lithuania, fewer than half were willing to fight. This pacifist mood reflects an EU integration designed to make war between member states unthinkable. The irony is that the European army is seen as a symbol of independence from the US – while quietly relying on American satellites, command structures and munitions. Many European countries have upped defence spending, but they are not ready to go it alone. An integrated force would demand pooled sovereignty, unified command and a level of political consensus that don't currently exist. That may change. But for now, Europe continues to depend on Washington's capricious leadership – even as it dreams of 'strategic autonomy'.
