Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has suggested the UK could keep its Trident submarine fleet but sans nuclear warheads.
In an interview to BBC, Corbyn said protecting defence jobs was his “first priority” and there were “options” for doing this while taking a lead in global nuclear “de-escalation”.
Corbyn said that Trident was a relic from a “Cold War generation” and he did not believe Prime Minister David Cameron would ever contemplate using it.
Asked, in that case, what was the point of having at least one submarine on constant patrol, he said: “They don't have to have warheads on them. If anyone uses a nuclear weapon it is catastrophic for the whole globe... There are options there.”
The party has said the idea is similar to one adopted by Japan.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said Labour would weaken the UK's defences.
The Labour leader has been against Trident but some MPs and peers have threatened to resign if Labour reverses its decades-long support for the nuclear deterrent.
Parliament is to hold a vote later this year on whether to proceed with building successor submarines to the existing Vanguard fleet, which is due to become obsolete by the end of the next decade.
According to The Telegraph, it is understood that senior figures in the GMB Union believe the plan is “incoherent” and “not credible” and that the organisation will not endorse Mr Corbyn's idea.
GMB and Unite, two leading unions, have warned about the impact on jobs of scrapping Trident.
The BBC understands Ken Livingstone will not have a formal role on Labour's defence review, which will consider the party's stance on Trident. The review, to be led by shadow defence secretary Emily Thornberry, will feed into a wider review on the UK's global role that Mr Livingstone will chair.
