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Top Level Group

The Top Level Group of UK Parliamentarians for Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament and Non-proliferation (TLG) is a cross-party parliamentary group in the United Kingdom, whose primary focus is the advancement of the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation agenda in Britain and internationally. It is formed of almost all the former senior Ministers of foreign affairs and defence over the last two decades and includes former Chiefs of Defence and two former NATO Secretaries General.

The Rt Hon Des Browne, former Defence Secretary, was the first convenor of the TLG, which is now led by Alistair Burt MP. The Top Level Group is administered and supported by the European Leadership Network.

Formation

The group was established in October 2009, in response to, and in tandem with, the growing international prominence of the issue of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. This momentum has been driven by former US Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George Shultz, former Defence Secretary William Perry and former Senator Sam Nunn in their Wall Street Journal article of January 2007, (which has since evolved into the Nuclear Security Project), as well as by U.S. President Barack Obama's Prague speech in April 2009, in which he outlined his vision of a nuclear-free world.

Members

The members of the group are as follows:

Name	Offices held
Labour Party (UK)}}"	Bob Ainsworth	Labour
Conservative Party (UK)}}"	Michael Ancram	Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)}}"	James Arbuthnot	Conservative
Labour Party (UK)}}"	Margaret Beckett MP	Labour
Independent}}"	The Lord Boyce	Crossbencher
Independent}}"	The Lord Bramall	Crossbencher
Labour Party (UK)}}"	The Lord Browne of Ladyton	Labour
Liberal Democrats (UK)}}"	Sir Menzies Campbell	Liberal Democrat
Conservative Party (UK)}}"	The Lord Carrington	Conservative
Independent}}"	The Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank	Crossbencher
Conservative Party (UK)}}"	The Lord Howe of Aberavon	Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)}}"	The Lord Howell of Guildford	Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)}}"	The Lord Hurd of Westwell	Conservative
Labour Party (UK)}}"	Adam Ingram	Labour
Conservative Party (UK)}}"	The Lord King of Bridgwater	Conservative
Independent}}"	The Lord Owen	Crossbencher (previously Labour and SDP)
Independent}}"	The Lord Ramsbotham	Crossbencher
Labour Party (UK)}}"	The Lord Reid of Cardowan	Labour
Conservative Party (UK)}}"	Malcolm Rifkind	Conservative
Labour Party (UK)}}"	The Lord Robertson of Port Ellen	Labour
Liberal Democrats (UK)}}"	The Baroness Williams of Crosby	Liberal Democrat

Key aims

According to the Top Level Group website, the aims of the group are:

Influence and support the UK government’s commitment to taking a lead on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation;
Make a UK contribution to the development of a European network of similar parliamentary groups;
Make an important contribution to the proposed ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) by the US; and
Advocate the agreement of a Fissile Material Cut Off Treaty (FMCT).}}

Activities

The members of the group are involved in a variety of activities, engaging in parliamentary work, media contributions, and in various relevant NGO conferences.

In February 2010, the group met with David Miliband MP, then Foreign Secretary, to discuss the issue of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, particularly as it related to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference later in the year.

On 14 April 2010, the group produced, signed, and arranged for the signatures of 41 senior European figures for a statement published as an open letter on the Guardian online website. This highlighted the world's growing nuclear dangers and called for greater international efforts to address them.

Des Browne, chair of the group, led delegations to Washington and to Moscow in March and April respectively.

Various members of the group have taken part in video interviews, produced by Talkworks Films, regarding the nuclear options and dangers ahead.

The Top Level Group also maintains a website which provides updates for the activities of its members, and which also monitors and publishes parliamentary proceedings relating to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.

References

White October Ltd. [http://www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org/ "European Leadership Network"]. ''europeanleadershipnetwork.org''.
Richard Norton-Taylor. (29 October 2009). "Retrieved 30 June 2010". Guardian.
George P. Shultz, William J. Perry, Henry A. Kissinger and Sam Nunn (4 January 2007). [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB116787515251566636 "A World Free of Nuclear Weapons"]. ''WSJ''.
"Retrieved 30 June 2010". Toplevelgroup.org.
link. (22 February 2010)
(14 April 2010). "Retrieved 30 June 2010". Guardian.
(28 April 2010). "Retrieved 30 June 2010". Toplevelgroup.org.
"Members' Viewpoints". Top Level Group.

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arms-control arms-control-treaties nuclear-proliferation nuclear-weapons-policy all-party-parliamentary-groups

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