The Bishops Conference of England and Wales asked the British Government to dismantle its nuclear arsenal. Seven months after a similar request was put forward by the Scottish Bishops, the British and Welsh Bishops too have issued a release in which they mention the Pope’s appeal for Peace Day 2006 and warn of the dangers of nuclear weapons in the world. This stance fits in with the public debate on the subject that was started by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, last June. "The Pope explained that nuclear weapons do not guarantee either the owners’ security or world peace”, write the Bishops, "the United Kingdom is at a point of no return. Its nuclear capacity is not sustainable beyond 2020 without substantial investments. The initial decisions must be taken by this Parliament that might be there in 2010″. According to the Bishops, the United Kingdom has "a unique opportunity to prove to the international community that security and self-defence are possible even without the unreasonable threat of nuclear weapons and revive the wider process of a full nuclear disarmament. According to the Bishop of Portsmouth, mgr. Crispian Hollis, president of the Department of International Affairs, "the dangers of nuclear weapons have been increased by the instability of the international relations. The cold war was fairly well controlled, but the control factor does not exist any more now".
