2nd LD Writethru: British lawmakers agree to renew Trident nuclear system

British lawmakers on Monday agreed by 472 votes to 117 to replace the country's submarine-based Trident nuclear missile system, a multi-billion pound project to maintain the country's military status, after Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

Theresa May, making her first appearance in parliament as prime minister, led the debate to pave the way for the building of four nuclear ballistic submarines, its Trident system.

The 54-billion-U.S. dollar fleet will be built at a shipyard at Barrow in northern England to replace its aging fleet of nuclear submarines.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn voted against the Trident program, even though many of his lawmakers supported it. There was also opposition from Scottish National Party politicians opposed to the nuclear submarines being based at the Faslane base on the Clyde in Scotland.

May earlier told lawmakers it would be an act of gross irresponsibility for Britain to abandon its nuclear weapons. Pressed during questioning in the chamber May was asked if she would sanction the use of nuclear missiles if it meant the deaths of 100,000 innocent men, women and children. She responded with an emphatic Yes. May told a packed chamber that Britain cannot afford to relax its guard.

She accused critics of the Trident system of being "the first to defend the country's enemies", adding "the nuclear threat had not gone away, if anything it has increased." She described Trident as Britain's "ultimate insurance policy."

Defense Secretary Michael Fallon closed the debate by saying nuclear threats were growing around the world and Trident "puts doubts in the minds of our adversaries".

For almost 50 years a British submarine carrying nuclear weapons has patrolled the oceans to deter a nuclear attack on Britain. The logic was that if Britain's defense capabilities were destroyed, the submarine could launch a catastrophic retaliatory strike on an aggressor.

The Trident program was introduced by then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s to replace the Polaris missile system used since the 1960s. But now a new generation of submarines will continue the program into the second half of the 21st century. The existing Vanguard submarines that carry the Trident nuclear deterrent will be retired when the new submarines are built.

Opponents of Trident accused May of generating the debate so early into her leadership of the country to take advantage of the civil war currently engulfing the main opposition Labour Party. The rift has seen leader Corbyn estranged from the vast majority of his own MPs, with a leadership challenge currently underway. Some Labour lawmakers even heckled their own leader as he spoke out against Trident during the debate. Endit