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| Trident debate: MPs vote to renew UK's nuclear deterrent system | Trident debate: MPs vote to renew UK's nuclear deterrent system |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| MPs have overwhelmingly backed the renewal of Britain’s Trident nuclear weapons system, voting 472 to 117 in favour of the motion. | |
| The vote, supported with a majority of 355, supports the government’s plans to replace the four Vanguard class submarines with four Successor submarines. | |
| Renewal of the continuous-at-sea deterrent is predicted to cost £31 billion, with a £10 billion contingency fund also set aside. | |
| The vote was predicted to pass, with nearly all Conservatives backing the motion and the Labour Party divided on the issue. | The vote was predicted to pass, with nearly all Conservatives backing the motion and the Labour Party divided on the issue. |
| Labour MPs were subject to a free vote, with leader Jeremy Corbyn declaring he would oppose the motion - a stance which led to strong criticism from some of his backbenchers. | |
| Labour sources have said they believe 138 Labour MPs voted for the motion, 48 against, with 45 not present, meaning around 60 per cent of all Labour MPs voted with the government for Trident renewal. | |
| A debate on Monday lasting almost six hours saw Theresa May made her first despatch box appearance as Prime Minister in which she said it would be a "an act of gross irresponsibility" for the UK to scrap its nuclear weapons and accused opponents of the UK’s Trident missile system of being "the first to defend the country's enemies". | |
| Despite former Prime Ministers avoiding answering the hypothetical question of whether they would ever press the nuclear button, Ms May declared without hesitation in the debate that she would order a nuclear strike to kill hundreds of thousands of people if she thought it was necessary. | |
| Ms May was challenged by the SNP’s George Kerevan, who asked: "Are you prepared to authorise a nuclear strike that could kill hundreds of thousands of men, women and children?” | |
| Ms May replied with one word: “Yes.” | |
| More follows... | More follows... |