From Commander RN (Rcl'd)

Director General Nuclear 
MOD Mam Building

London

SW 1 A ZHB

9 January 2020
Dear Director General

in correspondence with your Directorate between November 2017 and December 2015, I sought to
establish how a Trident SSBN Commanding Officer ice) on receipt of a fire order could be confident
that he is not being ordered to commit genocide or a crime against humanity as the Joint Services
Manual of Law ofArmed Conflict (isms) reouires of him. Furthermore, Nuremberg Principles iv
and VII and Article as ofthe Rome Statute ofthe international Criminal Court (ICC) also place direct
responsibility on the CD not to obey an order which is manifestly unlawful even though it emanates
from a superior. Therefore, in order to be sure that he is acting lawfully, he needs to know the
details of his targets and the effects of his weapons on them. As you will see from our
correspondence, my concern grew out ofa realisation that the CD is as much subject to the
deliberate ambiguity of Government nuclear weapon policy regarding first use, targets and number
of warheads as the intended targetls).

Vour Directorate did not provide an answer to this other than stating in a variety ofdifferent ways
that Government policy is lawful. when I pressed further your Directorate terminated the
correspondence.

RearAdmlral John Gower lretired former ACDS Nuclear, Chemical at Biological), writing in response
to my comments dated 25 November 2019 on his article UK: Nuclear Weapon Command, Control
and Communications published on 12 September 2019 on the public website 
stated:

the SSBN command has no knowledge ofthe targets which the PM has ordered selected
absolves them ofthe Nuremberg Principles, which are based on the simple fact that a subordinate
subject to them has knowledge ofthe specifics of the order and discretion in carrying them out.
Continued legal advice supports this."

Does Rear Admiral Gower's interpretation of the Nuremberg Principles in relation to Article as
accurately reflect the Government's position and, ifso, can your Directorate provide details ofthis

legal advice?

Vours sincerely

Robert