£350m Boost For British Nuclear Submarines

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond will today announce an additional £350m to design the future generation of British nuclear-armed submarines.

This investment will sustain 1,200 UK jobs and follows the initial £350m of design work announced earlier this year, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said.

However, the decision to press ahead with spending on the design for the new submarines has reignited coalition tensions over the replacement for Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent.

The issue divides the Tories and the Liberal Democrats, and as part of their coalition-forming agreement both parties promised to delay the final decision on whether to replace the nuclear deterrent until after the next general election.

Mr Hammond said the review would inform the main investment decision, "but in the meantime, we are pressing ahead with the design and development work".

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