By IRNA,
London : Delegates representing tens of thousands of Welsh Christians have urged the UK government to scrap schemes to spend billions of pounds on weapons of war at a time of economic hardship.
At a meeting in Gregynog, Powys over the weekend, the Council of the Union of Welsh Independent Churches called on coalition government leaders to face economic reality and cut back on unnecessary defence expenditure.
The UK defence budget is already overspent by £38 billion but last week Defence Secretary Liam Fox warned Prime Minister David Cameron that substantial spending cuts while Britain is at war will result in “grave consequences.”
‘Party, media, military and the international reaction will be brutal if we do not recognise the dangers and continue to push for such draconian cuts at a time when we are at war,’ Fox said in a leaked letter to Cameron.
But Welsh churches Council suggested that spending on three specific schemes could not be justified: a £14 billion Military Academy, the £20-75 billion plan to update Trident nuclear missiles and £900 million to develop pilotless military drones.
‘Even if funds were available to finance these projects, the Union of Welsh Independents would still oppose such devastatingly destructive weapons,” Elenid Jones, chair of the Union’s Department of Christian Citizenship said.
“In these present difficult days, such expenditure is totally unjustified,’ Jones said, while calling on congregational churches across Wales to write to their MPs and devolved assembly members to urge them to oppose the unnecessary s[ending.
The union represents over 450 independent churches that date back nearly 400 years and are commonly renowned for taking radical stances on a wide variety of spiritual, moral and social issues, including on international affairs.
British trade unions and peace groups have also urged the government to scrap Trident and to spend the savings on jobs, schools and health services.