UK sells its nuclear weapons stake to U.S. company

Posted By Carolyn O'Hara Monday, December 22, 2008 - 3:34 PM Share

In a hush-hush deal, the British government just sold its last shares in the country's nuclear weapons plant to a U.S. company. California-based Jacobs Engineering Group paid an undisclosed amount for the government's one-third stake in the only plant in the UK that manufactures nuclear weapons, including Trident warheads. Lockheed Martin owns another third of the plant, and a British business services company the remaining third.

The sale wasn't announced to Parliament, leaving some MPs to speculate that the government sold the plant at below market rates to get some much-needed funds for the Treasury. Critically, it means that all production, design, and decommissioning of nuclear weapons in the UK is privately owned, with U.S. companies having a majority stake.

Photo: Getty Images

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8:15 PM ET

December 26, 2008

Incorrect or inaccurate wording

Unfortunately, the wording in this post intimates that Jacobs Engeering as well as LM and a British company "own" the site. The site and its resources are still property of the British gov't. These three share a full stake as contractor, just like B&W Pantex does for the US nuke site in Texas.

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