Coalition for Peace through Security
Encyclopedia
The Coalition for Peace Through Security (CPS) was a campaigning group founded in September 1981 and active in the UK throughout the early and mid-1980s. It strongly opposed unilateral nuclear disarmament
and withdrawal from NATO as advocated by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
, supporting instead the replacement of Polaris
by Trident
and the deployment of NATO cruise missiles after the Soviet Union began deploying its SS20 missiles in 1977. The basis of the CPS case was set out in detail in a book published towards the end of the campaign, Paul Mercer's "Peace" of the Dead, and many of its arguments at the time can still be found on the website of Julian Lewis
, its one time Research Director.
Its main activists were Julian Lewis, Edward Leigh
and Francis Holihan. It was said to have close relations with the Institute for the Study of Conflict, the Institute of Economic Affairs
and the Centre for Policy Studies
.
The CPS was said to have close links with Conservative
leaders. It was endorsed by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
and rented its offices in Whitehall, London, from Jeffrey Archer. It was associated with the Campaign For Defence and Multilateral Disarmament (CDMD), which was run by Conservative Central Office. The CDMD included Winston Churchill, Conservative Party Chairman John Selwyn Gummer, Minister of State for Defence Peter Blaker, MOD
spokesman Ray Whitney
, Secretary of State for Defence Michael Heseltine
and Conservative ex-Chairman Cecil Parkinson
. The Economist newspaper reported in 1983 that the CPS had had meetings with Blaker. The Guardian newspaper reported that Churchill was appointed by Mrs Thatcher to co-ordinate the Government's campaign against CND. Parkinson was also involved with the CPS, and, according to Dorril he passed them a list of Conservative Party agents. The CPMD was said to have distributed CPS literature.
Amongst its activities were commissioning a series of Gallup
polls showing levels of support for and opposition to British possession of nuclear weapons; providing speakers at public meetings and debates; highlighting what it considered to be the left-wing affiliations of leading CND figures; and mounting counter-demonstrations
and stunts to undermine those organised by CND - for example, haranguing CND marchers from the roof of its offices and chartering a plane to fly over a CND festival with a banner reading, "Help the Soviets, Support CND!" The CPS also drew attention to peace movement links with other bodies, such as the World Peace Council
(WPC), the World Federation of Scientific Workers (WFSW) and the Soviet Peace Committee
(SPC), which were were funded and controlled by the Soviet Union
.
The CPS attracted criticism for not revealing its sources of funding whilst alleging that the anti-nuclear movement was funded by the Soviet Union. Although the CPS called itself a grass-roots movement, it had no members and was financed by The 61, "a private sector operational intelligence agency" said by its founder, Brian Crozier
, to be funded by "rich individuals and a few private companies". It was said to have also also received funding from the Heritage Foundation
in 1982.
Bruce Kent
, the CND general secretary, said in his autobiography that Francis Holihan spied on CND. It was said that Holihan sent senior clerics in the Catholic Church material about Kent, that he organised the aerial propaganda against CND, that he entered CND offices under false pretences and that CPS workers joined CND in order to gain access to the Campaign's 1982 Annual Conference. A draft CPS leaflet, but not its printed version, also linked Bruce Kent, then General Secretary of CND, to IRA
hunger-strikers. When Kent went on a speaking tour of America, Holihan was said to have followed him, offensive material on Kent was sent to newspapers and radio stations and demonstrations were organised against him. The CPS and Holihan parted company before the end of 1982.
With the decline in anti-nuclear agitation from 1985, and the Zero Option agreement in the 1987 INF Treaty to scrap both cruise and SS20 missiles, the organisers of the CPS pursued other political objectives. Tony Kerpel MBE
became Chief of Staff to Conservative Party
Chairman Kenneth Baker. Edward Leigh and Julian Lewis became Conservative MPs, for Gainsborough and New Forest East respectively.
Nuclear disarmament
Nuclear disarmament refers to both the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons and to the end state of a nuclear-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated....
and withdrawal from NATO as advocated by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is an anti-nuclear organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty...
, supporting instead the replacement of Polaris
UGM-27 Polaris
The Polaris missile was a two-stage solid-fuel nuclear-armed submarine-launched ballistic missile built during the Cold War by Lockheed Corporation of California for the United States Navy....
by Trident
Trident missile
The Trident missile is a submarine-launched ballistic missile equipped with multiple independently-targetable reentry vehicles . The Fleet Ballistic Missile is armed with nuclear warheads and is launched from nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines . Trident missiles are carried by fourteen...
and the deployment of NATO cruise missiles after the Soviet Union began deploying its SS20 missiles in 1977. The basis of the CPS case was set out in detail in a book published towards the end of the campaign, Paul Mercer's "Peace" of the Dead, and many of its arguments at the time can still be found on the website of Julian Lewis
Julian Lewis
Dr. Julian Murray Lewis is a British Conservative Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for New Forest East in Hampshire since the 1997 general election.-Education:Born on 26 September 1951 in Swansea, Dr...
, its one time Research Director.
Its main activists were Julian Lewis, Edward Leigh
Edward Leigh
Edward Julian Egerton Leigh is a British Conservative politician. He has sat in the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Gainsborough in Lincolnshire since 1997, and for its predecessor constituency of Gainsborough and Horncastle between 1983 and 1997...
and Francis Holihan. It was said to have close relations with the Institute for the Study of Conflict, the Institute of Economic Affairs
Institute of Economic Affairs
The Institute of Economic Affairs , founded in 1955, styles itself the UK's pre-eminent free-market think-tank. Its mission is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social...
and the Centre for Policy Studies
Centre for Policy Studies
The Centre for Policy Studies is a British right wing policy think tank whose goal is to promote coherent and practical public policy, to roll back the state, reform public services, support communities, and challenge threats to Britain’s independence...
.
The CPS was said to have close links with Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
leaders. It was endorsed by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
and rented its offices in Whitehall, London, from Jeffrey Archer. It was associated with the Campaign For Defence and Multilateral Disarmament (CDMD), which was run by Conservative Central Office. The CDMD included Winston Churchill, Conservative Party Chairman John Selwyn Gummer, Minister of State for Defence Peter Blaker, MOD
Ministry of Defence
In states where the government is divided into ministries, the Ministry of Defence may refer to that part of the government responsible for matters of defence, usually including all branches of the military and is usually controlled by a Defence minister or minister of defence.-List of Defence...
spokesman Ray Whitney
Ray Whitney
Ray Whitney may refer to:*Ray Whitney , retired UK politician*Ray Whitney NHL forward for the Phoenix Coyotes...
, Secretary of State for Defence Michael Heseltine
Michael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British businessman, Conservative politician and patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001 and was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major...
and Conservative ex-Chairman Cecil Parkinson
Cecil Parkinson
Cecil Parkinson, Baron Parkinson, PC , is a British Conservative politician and former Cabinet Minister.-Early life:...
. The Economist newspaper reported in 1983 that the CPS had had meetings with Blaker. The Guardian newspaper reported that Churchill was appointed by Mrs Thatcher to co-ordinate the Government's campaign against CND. Parkinson was also involved with the CPS, and, according to Dorril he passed them a list of Conservative Party agents. The CPMD was said to have distributed CPS literature.
Amongst its activities were commissioning a series of Gallup
The Gallup Organization
The Gallup Organization, is primarily a research-based performance-management consulting company. Some of Gallup's key practice areas are - Employee Engagement, Customer Engagement and Well-Being. Gallup has over 40 offices in 27 countries. World headquarters are in Washington, D.C. Operational...
polls showing levels of support for and opposition to British possession of nuclear weapons; providing speakers at public meetings and debates; highlighting what it considered to be the left-wing affiliations of leading CND figures; and mounting counter-demonstrations
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
and stunts to undermine those organised by CND - for example, haranguing CND marchers from the roof of its offices and chartering a plane to fly over a CND festival with a banner reading, "Help the Soviets, Support CND!" The CPS also drew attention to peace movement links with other bodies, such as the World Peace Council
World Peace Council
The World Peace Council is an international organization that advocates universal disarmament, sovereignty and independence and peaceful co-existence, and campaigns against imperialism, weapons of mass destruction and all forms of discrimination...
(WPC), the World Federation of Scientific Workers (WFSW) and the Soviet Peace Committee
Soviet Peace Committee
Soviet Peace Committee was a state-sponsored organization responsible for coordinating peace movements active in the Soviet Union. Soviet Peace Committee was founded in 1949 and existed until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.-History and activities:The Soviet Peace Committee was founded in...
(SPC), which were were funded and controlled by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
.
The CPS attracted criticism for not revealing its sources of funding whilst alleging that the anti-nuclear movement was funded by the Soviet Union. Although the CPS called itself a grass-roots movement, it had no members and was financed by The 61, "a private sector operational intelligence agency" said by its founder, Brian Crozier
Brian Crozier
Brian Rossiter Crozier is a British-based historian, strategist and journalist.Crozier was born in Australia, although he was raised in France, learning French. Thereafter his family moved to England where he would receive a scholarship to study piano and musical composition at the Trinity College...
, to be funded by "rich individuals and a few private companies". It was said to have also also received funding from the Heritage Foundation
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
in 1982.
Bruce Kent
Bruce Kent
Bruce Kent is a British political activist and a former Roman Catholic priest. Active in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament , he was the organisation's general secretary from 1980 to 1985 and its chair from 1987 to 1990...
, the CND general secretary, said in his autobiography that Francis Holihan spied on CND. It was said that Holihan sent senior clerics in the Catholic Church material about Kent, that he organised the aerial propaganda against CND, that he entered CND offices under false pretences and that CPS workers joined CND in order to gain access to the Campaign's 1982 Annual Conference. A draft CPS leaflet, but not its printed version, also linked Bruce Kent, then General Secretary of CND, to IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
hunger-strikers. When Kent went on a speaking tour of America, Holihan was said to have followed him, offensive material on Kent was sent to newspapers and radio stations and demonstrations were organised against him. The CPS and Holihan parted company before the end of 1982.
With the decline in anti-nuclear agitation from 1985, and the Zero Option agreement in the 1987 INF Treaty to scrap both cruise and SS20 missiles, the organisers of the CPS pursued other political objectives. Tony Kerpel MBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
became Chief of Staff to Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Chairman Kenneth Baker. Edward Leigh and Julian Lewis became Conservative MPs, for Gainsborough and New Forest East respectively.