No money for people, but plenty for war

Nor is there any hope that jobs will appear out of this programme. Unemployment continues to rise.

Meanwhile the Greek government, as a Nato member, has bought in the last years military aircraft from Lockheed Martin: 20 F16Cs and 10 F16D52s, the latter at a cost of $2 billion. That is billion not million.

Here in Britain there are the reports of the dire effects the government's austerity measures are having on the "disabled" in our society - not yet as cruel as Greece but getting worse by the day.

But, as in Greece, the government here can find money for the British part of the US Trident nuclear armed submarines fleet - £2bn annually - and is still committed to its replacement at a cost of at least £76bn.

Trident is "integrated" into Nato.

Across Europe, Nato member governments are able to find money for weapons before welfare.

It was president Eisenhower who, with brilliant foresight, used the phrase: "The military-industrial complex."

He said 50 years ago: "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex.

"The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

"We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes." No, indeed, no.

Let us oppose here in Britain the government's current plan to start on the "replacement" submarines which will lead to the whole hugely costly and world-destabilising retention of the US Trident nuclear fleet.

Rae Street

Littleborough