On his first day in office, PM Keir Starmer will get briefings from senior civil servants about key issues facing the govt and receive congratulatory phone calls from world leaders.
One of the most sobering moments of any PM’s first day on the job is the realisation that he now has the ultimate authority over whether to launch Britain‘s nuclear missiles.
In the UK, this is underscored when the country’s top civil servant informs the new PM that he has to write “last resort letters” to the captains of Britain’s four nuclear-armed submarines telling them what to do in the event of a nuclear attack.The letters are placed on board each of the submarines inside safes that are to be opened only if their captains are certain Britain has been attacked.
One of the most sobering moments of any PM’s first day on the job is the realisation that he now has the ultimate authority over whether to launch Britain‘s nuclear missiles.
In the UK, this is underscored when the country’s top civil servant informs the new PM that he has to write “last resort letters” to the captains of Britain’s four nuclear-armed submarines telling them what to do in the event of a nuclear attack.The letters are placed on board each of the submarines inside safes that are to be opened only if their captains are certain Britain has been attacked.