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		</div><p><a href="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/fox-rules-out-cuts-to-trident-fleet.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full" title="Liam Fox has said the UK Government must retain its Trident nuclear deterrent" src="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/min-fox-rules-out-cuts-to-trident-fleet.jpg" alt="Liam Fox has said the UK Government must retain its Trident nuclear deterrent"/></a></p>
<p>The UK Government must retain all its Trident missile submarines if the country&#8217;s nuclear deterrent is to be preserved, Defence Secretary Liam Fox has said.</p>
<p>Dr Fox told a BBC Scotland documentary that the Trident nuclear programme requires a fleet of four submarines.</p>
<p>BBC Scotland Investigates: Who Needs Trident?, was partly filmed on board one of the nuclear submarines and examines whether the weapon is still relevant.</p>
<p>Under the Trident programme, the Royal Navy operates 58 nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missiles and about 200 nuclear warheads on four Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarines from Clyde Naval Base at Faslane. At least one of the submarines is on patrol as a continuous at-sea deterrent.</p>
<p>The investigation reports that both the last Labour government in Westminster and the present Government did consider reducing the number of Trident missile submarines.</p>
<p>However, the Defence Secretary said that was now not looking possible. Asked if he would consider reducing the number of submarines from four to three, he replied: &#8220;If you reduce the number you take an increased risk in your ability to deploy that deterrent at all times. So at the moment the technology says four. That&#8217;s something that can always be kept under review.</p>
<p>&#8220;The reason we have four at the moment is that with the technology, and remember by the time we take these submarines out of action they&#8217;ll be 35 years old. With current technology we need four. What we need in 2028: that&#8217;s beyond my ability to predict.&#8221;</p>
<p>The coalition Government has opted to delay work on the next generation of submarines until 2016. This has faced criticism from opponents who believe the delay should be used to get rid of Britain&#8217;s entire nuclear deterrent.</p>
<p>Angus Robertson, the SNP&#8217;s defence spokesman, told the documentary: &#8220;It&#8217;s a weapon system which is unjustifiable. We can never use it. It&#8217;s immoral, it&#8217;s illegal, and frankly, we should be spending our money on more important things.&#8221;</p>
<p>The programme also reports that the Liberal Democrats are opposed to a like-for-like replacement of Trident and that they have also questioned the need for continuous at-sea deterrence.</p>
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