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Richard Norton-Taylor

About Richard Norton-Taylor

Richard Norton-Taylor Richard is an editor, journalist, playwright, and the doyen of British national security reporting. He wrote for the Guardian on defence and security matters and was the newspaper’s security editor for three decades.iA playwright, his journalistic memoirs, The State of Secrecy, was published in 2020. He won the Freedom of Information Campaign Award in 1986 and in 1994.

Labour’s long addiction to nuclear weapons

July 7, 2024 by Richard Norton-Taylor Leave a Comment

The prime minister now controls an arsenal capable of killing millions of people. History suggests it should be scrapped.

Who should we bomb next?

February 7, 2024 by Richard Norton-Taylor Leave a Comment

“UK ministers, far from contributing to negotiations and peace in the Middle East and elsewhere, are making a volatile world even more unstable than it already is.”

Nuclear threat yes, pandemic threat no

May 3, 2020 by Richard Norton-Taylor Leave a Comment

‘While billions are being spent on our nuclear deterrent, British troops were deployed without adequate equipment, including body armour, in Iraq and Afghanistan. And now, in the midst of the pandemic, doctors, nurses, hospitals, and care home staff, are under-equipped.’

Federalism and ending the democratic deficit

November 13, 2017 by Richard Norton-Taylor 1 Comment

“…we are faced with the extraordinary prospect of less cooperation with our immediate neighbours, even a situation where borders are restored within an island – now referred, even by English politicians, to the ‘island of Ireland’ – divided many years ago by a cowardly British establishment”.

At £167bn Trident is useless – and could destroy hundreds of frigate jobs

October 26, 2015 by Richard Norton-Taylor Leave a Comment

Scottish Labour will debate and, most likely, denounce Trident at its “crunch” annual conference in Perth this weekend. Costs have soared to £167n, putting at risk hundreds of jobs on the Clyde building new frigates – yet the missile system remains utterly useless.

Trident: an expensive and useless status symbol

March 8, 2015 by Richard Norton-Taylor 1 Comment

It is extraordinary that, even at a time of intense pressure on Britain’s defence budget, questioning the biggest, most expensive, unique, controversial weapons system – one whose rationale depends on it never being used – carries the risk of being treated like the characters in an old Bateman cartoon – mocked or embarrassed for offending traditional manners.

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Welcome to Sceptical Scot, Scotland’s premier non-tribal forum for passionate, informed debate. Sceptical Scot is for all who care about Scotland’s future, regardless of how they vote: for party, independence or union, EU or Brexit. We aim to provide an arena that is both broader and deeper than current online/print offers with a rich diet of well-researched, polemical, thought-provoking writing. Read more » about About Sceptical Scot

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