Warsaw: Britain's parliament will vote this month on renewing the Trident nuclear weapons programme, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Saturday as he sought to reassure NATO allies alarmed by Brexit.
Cameron's announcement at a NATO summit in Warsaw comes as the alliance grapples with the implications for its unity after key member Britain shocked the world by voting to leave the European Union.
"Today I can announce that we will hold a parliamentary vote on the 18th of July to confirm (lawmakers') support for the renewal of a full fleet of four nuclear submarines capable of providing around-the-clock cover," Cameron told a press conference at what will be his final NATO summit after six years in power.
"The nuclear deterrent remains essential in my view not just to Britain's security but as our allies acknowledge here today to the overall security of the NATO alliance," he said.
But the EU referendum result has raised questions about its commitment to NATO, especially at a time when the US-led alliance is trying to remain unified in the face of an increasingly assertive Russia.
Cameron however insisted that his country, which has what he said was the second biggest military budget in NATO, would remain a key member.
"This summit has underlined that while Britain may be leaving the European Union, we are not turning our backs on the world," he added.
"We are a country that is willing to deploy its troops... and we are a country with the ultimate deterrent," he said. Cameron is likely to win the Trident vote as his party widely backs it.
The leader of the main opposition Labour party Jeremy Corbyn has opposed the upgrade but a significant part of his increasingly rebellious MPs are also likely to support it. The future of Britain's nuclear deterrent is however in question as the submarines are based in Scotland, where the government is considering a second independence referendum following the Brexit vote.
Asked why he was pushing through the vote before handing over to his as-yet-undecided successor, Cameron said it was a pledge in his party's 2015 election manifesto "and we need to get on with that."
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