Tom Pashby, Author at Charlie Alford

Calls for Burnham to deliver justice for veterans on International Day against Nuclear Testing

Post author:Tom Pashby
Post published:28 August 2026
Post last modified:31 August 2026

Campaigners have joined forces with veterans organisations to call on the Prime Minister Andy Burnham to deliver justice for nuclear test veterans, on the UN’s International Day against Nuclear Testing (29 August). In a statement marking the 2026 observation of the International Day against Nuclear Testing, UN secretary-general António Guterres said: This day reminds us of the devastating consequences of nuclear testing – lessons humanity has learned through bitter experience. It is a time to reflect on the victims and survivors of nuclear testing, whose lives, lands and descendants have been scarred by nuclear explosions. Their suffering is not history. It…

UK urged to stand against US threat to restart nuclear weapons testing

Post author:Tom Pashby
Post published:28 August 2026
Post last modified:31 August 2026

President Trump’s threatened restart of explosive nuclear weapons testing would be “absolutely catastrophic”, and the UK Government must stand against it, campaigners have said on the UN’s International Day against Nuclear Testing (29 August). UN secretary-general António Guterres said: This year marks 30 years since the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty opened for signature and 35 years since the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. Such milestones remind us that humanity can and must choose restraint over ruin. Nuclear tests do not prove strength. They shatter trust, invite reciprocal tests, fuel a nuclear arms race and betray every community still living with…

Global nuclear security concerns raised as uranium being exported undeclared from Congo to China

Post author:Tom Pashby
Post published:13 August 2026
Post last modified:13 August 2026

Approximately 2,000 to 5,000 metric tons of undeclared uranium has been mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and exported to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), raising concerns about the proliferation of nuclear weapons, according to a new study. Uranium occurs naturally alongside cobalt ore. It is refined into cobalt metal, which is a critical material facing increasing demand for products supporting the transition away from fossil fuels, such as batteries. The naturally occurring uranium has been exported in large quantities alongside the cobalt ore for refining in China, but the uranium, which is enough to build as…

Labour’s meek response to anti-nuclear weapons conference torn apart by experts

Post author:Tom Pashby
Post published:3 August 2026
Post last modified:3 August 2026

The response by the UK Labour Government to the failure of a United Nations (UN) nuclear non-proliferation conference to reach a consensus has been criticised by a wide range of UK and international experts and campaigners. The government had sent a minister to speak at the UN in New York at the start of the 11th Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which took place from 27 April to 22 May 2026. Initially, the government chose not to comment when the Canary reported on the failure of the review conference to reach consensus on an outcome document. They have…

NATO urged to ‘stop treating more nukes in more places as answer to everything’

Post author:Tom Pashby
Post published:8 July 2026
Post last modified:8 July 2026

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) has been urged to “stop treating ‘more nukes in more places’ as the answer to everything” by anti-nuclear campaigners, as Western defence leaders meet at the NATO Summit in Türkiye. Defence industry top of the agenda NATO Summit 2026 is taking place in Ankara, Türkiye, on 7 and 8 July, with the formal purpose of reviewing “progress made since the 2025 Summit in The Hague”, and to “set out a roadmap to continue delivering on NATO’s key objectives”. Key topics on the agenda are defence industry, support for Ukraine and defence investment. NATO allies have…

Labour ignores failure of anti-nuclear weapons conference it spoke at

Post author:Tom Pashby
Post published:4 June 2026
Post last modified:9 June 2026

Countries including the UK failed to reach agreement at a UN nuclear conference in New York on how to eliminate nuclear weapons, while the Labour Government declined to comment despite sending a minister who spoke at the opening session. The 11th Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) took place from 27 April to 22 May, bringing together states parties, observers and non-governmental organisations. A House of Commons Library briefing published on 20 April said participants included treaty members, observers and NGOs who: discuss[ed] the functioning of the treaty, the implementation of its provisions and the state of nuclear disarmament…

Activists call out Labour’s ‘dangerous militarisation of higher education’

Post author:Tom Pashby
Post published:29 May 2026
Post last modified:8 June 2026

Labour’s Defence Universities Alliance (DUA) would be a “a dangerous militarisation of higher education“, according to the campaign group Demilitarise Education (dED), which is calling on universities, students, staff, trade unions, and local communities to oppose the initiative. Defence Industrial Strategy 2025 The DUA was initially announced in September 2025 in the Defence Industrial Strategy, which said: We will establish a Defence Universities Alliance (DUA) to form a more strategic relationship between defence and the higher education sector. The DUA will build on existing connections between the sectors to support careers in the defence sector and encourage ethical defence and security…

UK government trying to ‘cover up’ its ’embarrassment’ over nature and national security report

Post author:Tom Pashby
Post published:27 May 2026
Post last modified:8 June 2026

The government has been accused of seeming to “cover up” its “embarrassment” by trying to hide an explosive report, which revealed the dire state of the climate and biodiversity emergencies. The comments were made after the Cabinet Office rejected a Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request from the Canary, which asked the Prime Minister’s Office to release documents showing discussions between officials about the timing of the publication of the Nature security assessment on global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security. The assessment was published in January 2026 following an FOI request from the Green Alliance think tank. It was…