No Trident Trip for apathetic MPs

From the Pandora column in today's Independent.

Just imagine the fun one could have aboard a nuclear submarine! The big-haired Kali Mountford, bag carrier to the Defence Secretary Des Browne, has spent the past fortnight trying to pressgang her fellow MPs into walking the plank onto a Trident sub.

On offer: a tour of the Faslane naval base, sailing overnight into the icy depths off west Scotland, followed by holiday snaps with the Doomsday weapon.

Alas, this weekend's trip - which eerily coincided with Stop the War's anti-Trident demo in London - has plummeted to the seabed. Not because of concerns about letting certain members of the Commons anywhere near operational missile technology, but due to a lack of support from parliamentarians.

Says a nice chap in Mountford's office: "No Tories or Liberals signed up for it. Perhaps they're scared."