THE UK Government is today accused of "skewing its priorities" after parliamentary answers showed the value of Britain's main nuclear bomb-making factory in Berkshire is worth £2.8 billion, more than the entire value of all its overseas properties, including embassies and diplomatic missions.
Philip Dunne, the Defence Minister, said in a parliamentary written answer to Angus Robertson, the SNP's defence spokesman, that as of March 31 2013, the "net book value of the nuclear warhead stockpile was £273.7m, the D5 missile pool was £419.3m and the Atomic Weapons Establishment was £2785.9m".
He added: "The net book values bear no relation to the replacement costs of the assets and capabilities."
Mr Robertson, the SNP leader at Westminster, said: "It is astonishing and says so much about the priorities of the UK, that it puts more value on developing and making these immoral weapons of mass destruction aimed at obliterating cities in Russia than developing and sustaining a network of positive diplomatic missions."
The Moray MP described Trident as an "obscene waste of money" with its renewal costing up to £100bn.
He pointed out the parliamentary answers also revealed that the cost of the missiles warheads had already risen by more than 600% in the past five years .
"What we do know is that Westminster wants to dump them on the Clyde."
He added: "We now know that the establishment at Aldermaston is worth more than all the UK's overseas properties put together and that is shameful."
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