Anti-arms groups plan mass protests over expansion of UK nuclear deterrent

US F-22 stealth fighters at RAF Lakenheath in August 2024. Lakenheath and RAF Marham are likely to become a focus of protests over the nuclear plan. Photograph: Mark Bullimore Photography/Alamy

The biggest expansion of the UK’s nuclear deterrent in a generation will put the nation on the “nuclear frontline” and mobilise a new generation of anti-nuclear weapons protesters, campaign groups have warned.

Anti-nuclear and anti-arms campaign groups are planning mass protests against nuclear weapons – of a kind not seen since the days of the Greenham Common peace camp in the 80s – in response to government plans to significantly expand its nuclear deterrent by buying a squadron of American fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear weapons.