18th August 2008
Dear Friends,
Judicial Review of the government's decision to renew the Trident nuclear weapons system
Thank you for your support and interest in the NIS case against Trident.
We have now submitted our Appeal Skeleton Argument. The MoD have an opportunity to answer our points, then a High Court judge looks at both papers to assess the chances of a successful Appeal. If s/he refuses an Appeal, we have the right to an oral hearing when our barrister puts our case in the high court. If we are granted an Appeal on the papers alone, work starts to prepare the case in detail.
NIS is indebted to the expert service and advice from lawyers Fouzia Javaid and Phil Shiner at Public Interest Lawyers and barristers Naina Patel and Mike Fordham QC at Blackstone Chambers. Our legal team is committed to keeping costs as low as possible.
However we still need to raise the following sums, incrementally:
(a) the final £100 of £1,000 to prepare and lodge the Skeleton Argument;
(b) if necessary, £4,000 for a Permission Hearing;
(c) if we get permission to appeal by either route, £4,000 will be needed for the Appeal;
(d) if we win the Appeal and are granted a Judicial Review, the initial view is that in the region of £25,000 will be needed on the basis of previous similar Judicial Reviews. However this figure would need to be revisited if we win the Appeal.
I know that you support our effort to challenge the Trident decision and hope that you will be able to help meet this financial appeal for £4,100. Please feel free to forward this letter to anyone who may be in a position to donate a substantial sum to the NIS legal fund. As welcome as small donations are, experience shows that likely donors already have commitments to charitable giving, and we need to approach new people.
Donations may be made via Paypal on our website at www.nuclearinfo.org or by cheque to NIS, marked JR on the back. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter.
Yours sincerely,
Di McDonald