Whitelaw's civil defence farce | IMGpapers 1980

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THE government's decision to devote an extra £45m to civil defence is one off its most cynical decisions.

The main 'civil defence' DroDosal (made Secretary Whitelaw civilians should construct antismelters inerr own nomes. Whitelaw argues that a lives' could be suvea oy ine expen. cuure orinis tain In reality, it is highly unlikely that most of the population would have the time 1o acquire the materials required to block off windows and 1o construct o chener in the 'anti-fallout room.

I/ IS by that these "shelters' would protect against fallout. And what little hope personally Sirucien 'anti-fallout' shelters afford - assuming that there's more than four minutes warn70 - will be of no relevance lo The millions of people in urban ureus wrose nouses would be destroyed or severely damaged by blast and fire storm.

Whitelaw's f45 m is not really about prolecting the civilian population detence about convincing ull. people that they could survive nuclear This is a par#cularly cruel and cynical hoax. Tories Its purpose Is lo make th acceptio war proparations more The f45m-spent on the civil defence public relations exercise payment on the thousands millions for Trident and Cruise.