This joint briefing by Kate Hudson, CND and David Cullen, Nuclear Information Service will summarise the main activities under the US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement(MDA) on nuclear weapons co-operation and the potential impacts of proposed amendments announced. The deadline for any parliamentary objections is 23 October 2024 ahead of renewal in 2025.

The US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement, the treaty that governs nuclear weapon exchanges between the two states, has been regularly reviewed and extended since it came into force in the 1950s. The current treaty expires at the end of 2024, and in July the Government announced proposed amendments that would make the treaty permanent. This runs counter to the UK’s disarmament obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.