David Cameron's radical Euro nuke plan?

For the last years of Labour’s time in power, bilateral summits between France and Britain became a commonplace. At the last one between Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy, the French offered a deal to share aspects of their nuclear deterrent – submarine patrols that would reduce the need to have so many Trident Subs, and warhead maintenance.

Mr Brown emerged saying that an Anglo-French deal that compromised the integrity of the “independence” of the nuclear deterrent would be politically undeliverable.

But sources both sides of the Channel have told me recently that David Cameron is actively interested in rendering such an agreement more than politically deliverable.

A couple of weeks ago a senior French Government source told me to look forward to the next Anglo French summit with considerable anticipation. There’s “something very big to be announced”, he told me.

Today’s FT begins to put some more flesh on the bones, suggesting that French nuclear technicians may be engaged in maintaining the UK’s nuclear warheads. The article points out the considerable concessions the US would have to make, effectively to allow the French in on US nuclear secrets.

There’s little doubt that the Brits are desperate to reduce costs on Trident. In my interview this week with Mr Cameron he told me that “we have already been able to make considerable savings with our nuclear deterrent”.

The idea that two allied European Atlantic powers have required totally independent submarine cover (bearing nuclear weapons) has for some time seemed something of an anachronism. My contact told me that Sarkozy’s idea had been for joint patrols which would reduce the total number of nuclear capable boats and missiles in both countries.

Watch this space. Is a UK Prime Minister, formerly regarded as something of a Euro-sceptic about to take what many might regard as a radically European step?