Locals call for transparency after RAF Lakenheath nuclear drill

People living near an American air base aimed at hosting nuclear weapons say they are staying in the dark about what would happen in case of a radiation alert.

It occurs after a drill that simulates an accident that involved this material was the hero, with the staff of the RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk participating.

Nick Timothy, a conservative deputy of West Suffolk, said that although the US army was “welcome”, there had to be “transparitive as far as possible in problems like this exercise.”

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense (MOD) said: “Exercising the diamond dragon demonstrated our preparation to respond to any incident, regardless of how unlikely.”

The exercise was carried out in the nearby RAF Honington.

A US Air Force spokesman. (USAF) said: “USAF aviators participated in a small -scale joint emergency response exercise from September 23 to 25, 2024.

“The purpose was to train and evaluate the combined emergency response procedures in support of military operations and accidents.”

The last exercise was a hero in 2015, after which a report on which lessons had learned the leg was published.

The Suffolk Resilience Forum, which leads emergency planning in the county, confirmed that the scenario in both cases was a simulated accident in the United Kingdom of an American plane with “defense nuclear materials.”

The president of the Lakenheath parish council, Gerald Kelly, said they had been informally told about the last year.

He said the area had an emergency plan, but added: “There is nothing about this type of incident.”

The mod must inform residents “what we want us to do” if the event of an incident, he said.

Kelly asked that a siren system be installed and that the local community is involved in any future exercise.

The Nuclear Defense Organization, which excessive “all nuclear defense businesses, excluding operations”, publishes guidance in 2021 that details what local authorities should do in case of an emergency of nuclear weapons.

A section advised the members of the public located 5 km (three miles) in favor of the wind or an incident must be evacuated in a 45 degree arch, focused on the direction of the wind.

They would also be advised to parents who do not try to collect children from school unless otherwise indicated.

“The school authorities will take care of them,” the document said.

Lakenheath’s villagers said they did not know about this council or exercise of the diamond dragon.

David Rolph, who has lived locally for 20 years, said: “I think that local people should be aware of what we can do if something happened at the base and there is no information. There is no bulletin board to say what to do.”

He supported the idea of ​​a mermaid warning system.

Lily Brown, 33, a barber who previously worked at Raf Lakenheath, was not interested in the idea that sirens are installed. “I prefer not to know what is coming,” he said.

Sally Hunt confirmed that he had also not received nuclear safety information, despite living near Lakenheath for two decades.

“If they are going to have nuclear weapons up there, I think we must be aware of it and know that there are security measures,” he added.

Timothy, who has been represented by the Constitution since last July, said: “We know what exercises like this take place throughout the government, throughout the Army and public services for all kinds or different possibilities all the time.”

A spokesman for the Suffolk Resilience Forum said he would publish a report on the last year.

They added: “This happened in West Suffolk due to the obvious availability and proximity of an adequate location and relevant military personnel.

“This exercise is relevant to any part of the United Kingdom and does not represent a specific threat to our area.”