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  • HMS Vanguard at Faslane naval base

    British Pugwash

    We use the best scientific expertise to inform the government and the public about issues relating to weapons of mass destruction – especially nuclear weapons – issues of war and peace, the environment and the social responsibility of scientists.

  • RAF Reaper at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan

    British Pugwash

    We use the best scientific expertise to inform the government and the public about issues relating to weapons of mass destruction – especially nuclear weapons – issues of war and peace, the environment and the social responsibility of scientists.

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Our Patrons

We are proud to have the support of seven Patrons, all of whom are eminent figures from the worlds of science and defence.

Our Patrons are:
• Lord Martin Rees OM FRS
• Sir Colin Blakemore FMedSci FRS
• Dame Athene Donald DBE FRS
• Sir Timothy Gowers FRS
• Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith FRS
• General Sir Nick Parker KCB CBE
• Sir Hew Strachan DL FRSE FRHistS

Our Activities

Our activities include studies of science and policy issues, regular public discussion and education meetings, and engagement with politicians and government officials.

Our publications include in-depth scientific and policy research, as well as newsletters, our Annual Reports and reports from conferences and events.

Our youth wing, SYP UK, is also extremely active and publishes updates on news and events here

Our Projects

Current projects include research on the ethics of armed robotic systems, the potential impact of emerging technologies on nuclear weapon systems, the climate-nuclear nexus and continued work on future energy options for the UK.

Recent projects include the WMD Awareness public education campaign and efforts to establish a British Disarmament Institute.

Membership

The British Pugwash Group is a membership organisation that brings together scientists and others concerned with international affairs and disarmament.

We are led by our Executive Committee and receive the support of seven Patrons.

Latest publications, events and news
You are here: Home › British Pugwash home
Robot with UK flag

Video: Killer robots? (SYP Webinar)

Published on 3rd July 2020 in Events, Ethics of Science, Remote Control Weaponry, Recent events, Recently published, Student Young Pugwash Past Events

SYP UK held its second webinar, on the ethical, political and technical issues around lethal autonomous weapons (or ‘killer robots’), on 30th June 2020.

Speakers included:

  • Laura Nolan, a software engineer who recently resigned from Google in protest over its involvement with the US DoD’s ‘Project Maven’ – Starts at 0min20s – Slides here
  • Elizabeth Minor, an Advisor at Article 36, an NGO that works to develop new legal standards to prevent civilian harm from weapons – Starts at 20mins30s – Slides here
  • David Ellwood, a theoretical physicist, mathematician, and Exec Committee member of British Pugwash (former Research Director of the Clay Mathematics Institute) – Starts at 37mins – Slides here

The webinar was chaired by Orlanda Gill, a University of Warwick graduate.…

Sebastian Brixey-Williams

Video: The pandemic and non-proliferation (SYP webinar)

Published on 3rd July 2020 in Nuclear Weapons, Trident, Disarmament, NPT, Events, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Recent events, Recently published, Student Young Pugwash Past Events

SYP UK held its first webinar, on the topic how COVID-19 is affecting the fields of arms control, non-proliferation and disarmament (16th June 2020)

The guest speaker was Sebastian Brixey-Williams, Co-Director of the arms control think tank British American Security Information Council (BASIC).…

British Pugwash Newsletter – May 2020

Published on 27th May 2020 in Nuclear Weapons, Verification, Disarmament, NPT, Current projects – feed, Ethics of Science, Chemical and Biological Weapons, Weapons of Mass Destruction, History, Newsletters, International Peace & Security, Recently published

Topics covered in the British Pugwash May 2020 Newsletter include:

  • Pugwash statement on the Open Skies Treaty and New START
  • Pugwash statement on NPT Review postponement and risks post-pandemic
  • Obituary – Julian Perry Robinson
  • Dr Frank Boulton on ‘Nuclear war and public health’
  • A selection of relevant articles

The newsletter can be found online here…

hypersonic missile

New Video: Hypersonic Missiles vs Strategic Stability

Published on 21st April 2020 in Uncategorised, Nuclear Weapons, Emerging Technologies and the Impact on Strategic Stability, Disarmament, Current projects – feed, Publications, Weapons of Mass Destruction, British Pugwash projects, Recently published

Student/Young Pugwash UK has released a video of Matteo Frigoli discussing his research on developments with hypersonic missiles. The presentation is based on research commissioned by British Pugwash.

The presentation covers:

  • Technical issues
  • Destabilising potential of hypersonics
  • US, Russian and Chinese perspectives
  • Arms control options

Enjoy!…

British Pugwash Group Annual Report 2019

Published on 21st April 2020 in Nuclear Weapons, Annual reports, Chemical and Biological Weapons, Publications, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Remote Control Weaponry, International Peace & Security, Recently published

Topics covered include:

  • International developments vis-a-vis arms control
  • Student/Young Pugwash UK
  • Pugwash mission to Moscow
  • Hypersonic missiles research
  • EuroPugwash conference
  • British Pugwash development / changes

Download or read the report…

Multimedia from Technology & Peace Conference (SYP UK), 7 March 2020

Published on 17th March 2020 in Nuclear Weapons, Emerging Technologies and the Impact on Strategic Stability, Disarmament, Events, Ethics of Science, Publications, Remote Control Weaponry, Recent events, Recently published, Student Young Pugwash Past Events

Student / Young Pugwash UK held its fifth Annual Conference in March 2020, titled ‘Warwick Technology & Peace Conference‘, in association with the Warwick Pugwash Student Society. 

It was a multidisciplinary conference about the risks posted by emerging technologies, as well as political and technical solutions to control them.…

isyp fun

SYP UK Annual Meeting & Strategy Day – 2nd May – Virtual

Published on 10th March 2020 in Events, Forthcoming events, Student Young Pugwash Past Events

On afternoon of May 2, Student Young Pugwash (SYP) UK will be hosting an Annual Meeting and Strategy Day on Zoom.

We will be discussing our work for the coming year,
including:

  • A conference on ethical science
  • Media training events for SYP UK members
  • Next year’s SYP UK Annual Conference
  • Partnerships with other NGOs, campaigns and
    concerned scientists

Please RSVP to syp@britishpugwash.org…

Front of UN HQ in New York

POSTPONED – Non-Proliferation Treaty RevCon 2020 – British Pugwash discussion meeting

Published on 2nd March 2020 in Uncategorised, Nuclear Weapons, Disarmament, NPT, Events, Forthcoming events, International Peace & Security, Student Young Pugwash Upcoming Events

In light of government advice on COVID-19 and the fact that the NPT RevCon 2020 has been postponed, we have decided to postpone this event (possibly to next year).

We have also postponed the AGM of British Pugwash, which was supposed to precede this meeting.…

Lord Martin Rees

British Pugwash welcomes new Patrons from science and defence

Published on 14th January 2020 in Uncategorised

British Pugwash Group is delighted to announce the appointment of seven Patrons, all of whom are leading figures from the worlds of science or defence.

Our Patrons are public supporters and advocates for the work of British Pugwash, which seeks to apply independent, scientifically-informed analysis to some of the most challenging issues in international security, arms control and environmental sustainability.…

New research: Hypersonic weapon systems – Implications and arms control (Dec 2019)

Published on 17th December 2019 in Nuclear Weapons, Emerging Technologies and the Impact on Strategic Stability, Disarmament, Current projects – feed, Publications, British Pugwash projects, International Peace & Security, Recently published

Student/Young Pugwash UK is delighted to release a new report on developments with hypersonic missile technology. The paper covers the latest technologies, the key states involved, the risks posed and the potential ways forward for arms control and non-proliferation.…

Help a Young Pugwashite get to Doha 2020!

Published on 2nd December 2019 in Uncategorised

Student/Young Pugwash (SYP) UK is raising money to support one of its members to represent SYP UK at the next International SYP Conference, in Doha (Qatar) in early 2020.

The 11th International SYP Conference (here) will bring together young scholars and professionals from around the word to discuss their ideas for the future of disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation. …

bombbulb

Multimedia available – Ethical Science? – Nottingham University – 23rd October 2019

Published on 6th November 2019 in Climate Change and Energy Policy, Current projects – feed, Ethics of Science, British Pugwash projects, History, Remote Control Weaponry, Recently published, Student Young Pugwash Past Events

British Pugwash co-hosted with University of Nottingham Physics Department a mini-conference about ethical issues in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The conference was open to all ages and disciplines. The agenda is below.…

ISODARCO 2019

Arms Control Winter Course, Italy – International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts (ISODARCO) – Jan 2020

Published on 11th September 2019 in Nuclear Weapons, Verification, Emerging Technologies and the Impact on Strategic Stability, Disarmament, Events, International Peace & Security

Details have now been released of the fantastic ISODARCO Winter Course, organised by Italian Pugwash.

Full details and registration is online here: www.isodarco.it

———

59th Winter Course of the International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts (ISODARCO)

Subject: Emerging Technologies, Evolving Nuclear Postures, and Deteriorating Norms: is the Global Nuclear Order Eroding?…

Pugwash news in June: Iran visit, Prof Finney on killer robots, President on NPT

Published on 17th July 2019 in Nuclear Weapons, NPT, Current projects – feed, Publications, Remote Control Weaponry, Newsletters, International Peace & Security, Recently published

Item 1: Iran visit – International Pugwash visited Tehran (Iran) for a two-day meeting to discuss the JCPOA (the ‘Iran Deal’) – Meeting notes and photos here

Item 2: Killer robots – Professor John Finney, of the British Pugwash Trust, has written for Responsible Science about the risks of ‘killer robots’ and the UN’s COMEST Commissions work on the issue – here

Item 3: NPT update – International Pugwash President Sergio Duarte published a commentary about the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty – here…

Pugwash at APPG on drones: ‘Drones, swarming and the future of warfare’

Published on 12th July 2019 in Emerging Technologies and the Impact on Strategic Stability, Current projects – feed, Events, British Pugwash projects, Remote Control Weaponry, Recent events

Our Executive Committee member, Sebastian Brixey-Williams, spoke about some of his recent research on marine drones to a meeting organised by three different All Party Parliamentary Groups.

The presentation touched on some of his Pugwash-funded research on how trends in unmanned underwater vehicles might impact submarine-based nuclear weapons systems.…

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The Salisbury poisonings – Multimedia from public lecture – SOAS, 15th April 2019

Published on 3rd May 2019 in Current projects – feed, Events, Chemical and Biological Weapons, Publications, Weapons of Mass Destruction, Recent events, International Peace & Security, Recently published

On 26th April 2019, British Pugwash co-hosted a public lecture at SOAS, titled:

The Salisbury poisonings – one year after 

Click for audio and slides

Our guest speaker was Dr Richard Guthrie, a member of British Pugwash Executive Committee and an expert on chemical and biological weapons.…

British Pugwash at ‘Capturing Technology. Rethinking Arms Control’ in Germany

Published on 20th March 2019 in Nuclear Weapons, Verification, Emerging Technologies and the Impact on Strategic Stability, Disarmament, Events, Publications, British Pugwash projects, Recent events, Recently published

On 15th March 2019, a conference was held at the German Federal Foreign Office titled ‘Capturing Technology. Rethinking Arms Control’.

The aim of the Conference was to promote a well-informed international dialogue on the nature and implications of the current technological trends and to discuss whether new solutions are needed to ensure that the global arms control architecture can effectively capture new technologies.…

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Pugwash Peace & Disarmament Conference 2019 – multimedia report!

Published on 11th March 2019 in Nuclear Weapons, Verification, Emerging Technologies and the Impact on Strategic Stability, Disarmament, Events, Ethics of Science, Weapons of Mass Destruction, British Pugwash projects, Remote Control Weaponry, Recent events, Recently published, Student Young Pugwash Past Events

Student / Young Pugwash UK held its fourth Annual Conference in February 2019, titled ‘Pugwash Peace & Disarmament Conference‘. It explored the prospects for arms control and disarmament over the coming years, with focuses on nuclear weapons and emerging technologies.…

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Pugwash delegation in Moscow to discuss arms control

Published on 4th February 2019 in Nuclear Weapons, Verification, Emerging Technologies and the Impact on Strategic Stability, Disarmament, Current projects – feed, Events, Weapons of Mass Destruction, British Pugwash projects, International Peace & Security

From 27-29 January, a Pugwash delegation comprising the Secretary General, Paolo Cotta-Ramusino, Chair of British Pugwash Group, Peter Jenkins, and Pugwash Council Members Götz Neuneck, Alexander Nikitin, and Alexander Dynkin had a series of meetings in Moscow to discuss the future of arms control as part of a new Pugwash project.…