TheEye is slightly nervous as to how furious the reaction of the excellent fellow Eye contributor and also individual blogger St Crispin’s Day may be to the announcement today that the Government has sold off our remaining stake in AWE Aldermaston.

Don’t tell him or it could all get horribly unpleasant.

On the front page of today’s Independent we see that, even on a quiet news day Labour still think that they can get away with sneaking out the sale of the Government’s remaining share in our Atomic Weapons Establishment.

Shadow Defence Minister Gerald Howarth has stepped up to the plate; suggesting that the Government must be “strapped for cash” and that by failing to announce the move to the House of Commons it is “holding Parliament in contempt in respect to Britain’s nuclear capabilities”.

PoliticsHome has his statement to the BBC:

“It has even been announced here. Parliament hasn’t been told. There has always been a reluctance by this Labour government to be open and frank about issues to do with the nuclear deterrent. What we want to know is what are the strategic implications of this.

“I suspect that it’s another sale by the government, in this kind of fire sale they’re undertaking. Obviously Gordon Brown is strapped for cash, and he wants to get the money from wherever he can. There is also a real reluctance to interact with Parliament on something that is absolutely crucial.