SIR Keir Starmer’s plans to splash out on new nukes are in breach of international law, according to new legal opinion obtained by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).

The Prime Minister announced his intention earlier this year to expand Britain’s nuclear capabilities, pledging to buy nuclear-capable F-35A fighter jets from the US as well as ploughing on with Trident renewal.

It would mean that, for the first time in decades, Britain could launch weapons of mass destruction from both air and sea, despite being a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

By signing the NPT, Britain committed to “pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.”

Arguing Sir Keir’s plans breach this obligation, the legal opinion from international law experts Professor Christine Chinkin and Dr Louise Arimatsu commissioned by the CND argues: “The decision of the UK to purchase F-35a fighter jets rather than any other model is precisely because the aircraft can ‘deliver both conventional and nuclear weapons’ and thereby enable the RAF to reacquire ‘a nuclear role for the first time since 1998.’ 

“Reinstating a nuclear role for the RAF represents a reversal of the UK’s long-term commitment to nuclear disarmament, including under the NPT.”

CND general secretary Sophie Bolt commented: “The government has acted outrageously by pushing through this dangerous nuclear expansion.

“In its own words this is the ‘biggest strengthening of the UK’s nuclear posture in a generation’. 

“Britain is yet again escalating nuclear dangers in the world. It has done this without any parliamentary debate or scrutiny. And now this decision has been shown to be in breach of its own disarmament obligations.

“At a time of increasing global tensions and the rising threat of nuclear weapons being used in war, the British government should be doing everything possible to reduce this threat, not accelerate it. 

“That means abiding by its commitment to the nuclear NPT, not breaching it.”

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the purchase “will be a major boost for national security,” adding:  “The UK remains committed to the goal of a world without nuclear weapons and upholds all our obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.”