British Prime Minister Tony Blair faced a major rebellion in his own party on Wednesday over a proposal for a nuclear missile defence system—a programme critics claim could undermine efforts to stem the weapons ambitions of Iran and other countries.Blair is likely to win approval for the programme, which he estimates would cost 20 billion pounds, but only with the support of the opposition Conservative Party, which has said it would back the proposal.Around 100 lawmakers, including 60 from Blair’s own governing Labour Party, planned to reject the proposal. They instead backed an amendment urging the government to delay ordering replacement submarines.Lawmaker Stephen Pound announced his resignation on Wednesday from a junior government job—becoming the third government member to quit over the proposal. Critics also say the Trident system could cost three times as much as the government’s estimate.
