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 ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...

and defence over the last two decades and includes former Chiefs of Defence and two former NATO Secretaries General. The Rt Hon

Des Browne Desmond Henry Browne, Baron Browne of Ladyton, (born 22 March 1952) is a Scottish politician who served in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown as Secretary of State for Defence 2006 to 2008 and Secretary of St ...

, former Defence Secretary, was the first convenor of the TLG, which is now led by

Alistair Burt Alistair James Hendrie Burt (born 25 May 1955) is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Bedfordshire from 2001 until 2019. He was previously MP for his native Bury North in Greater Manchester from 1983 until ...

MP. The Top Level Group is administered and supported by th
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 George Pratt Shultz (; December 13, 1920February 6, 2021) was an American economist, businessman, diplomat and statesman. He served in various positions under two different Republican presidents and is one of the only two persons to have held fou ...

, former Defence Secretary

William Perry William Perry may refer to: Business * William Perry (Queensland businessman) (1835–1891), businessman and politician in Queensland, Australia * William H. Perry (businessman) (1832–1906), American businessman and entrepreneur Politics and ...

and former Senator Sam Nunn in their Wall Street Journal article of January 2007, (which has since evolved into th
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:

Key aims

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

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 The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Seen as ...

, 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 b
Talkworks Films
regarding the nuclear options and dangers ahead. The Top Level Group also maintains
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

External links

Top Level Group

Nuclear Security Project , Security on Nuclear Weapons & Materials , NTI
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2014 Arms control Arms control treaties Nuclear proliferation Nuclear weapons policy All-Party Parliamentary Groups