Python (codename): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:09, 28 September 2021

Revision as of 23:22, 2 March 2022

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==Background==

Following the report of the [[Strath Committee]] in 1955, the British government developed contingency plans for the continuity of government. This included construction of the [[Central Government War Headquarters]] (CGWHQ), codenamed BURLINGTON, at [[Corsham]]. As planned, it would have been a "reserve [[Whitehall]]" where the central government could be moved in an emergency and, hopefully, survive a nuclear attack. As nuclear weapons became more powerful and [[intercontinental ballistic missiles]] became more of a threat than mannedcrewed [[bomber]]s, the concept of concentrating central government in a single ___location became flawed. Instead government would be dispersed around the country with just core functions at CGWHQ. The [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] of 1962 prompted a radical rethink of continuity plans.<ref name="herald">{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15039649.How_Scotland_and_three_CalMac_ferries_played_a_crucial_part_in_nuclear_planning/|title=How Scotland and three CalMac ferries played a crucial part in nuclear planning|publisher=The Herald|date=22 January 2017}}</ref> Part of the thinking was that the Precautionary Period ahead of nuclear war, or a conventional war in Europe culminating in nuclear war, might only last two or three days rather than the seven days originally planned, so it would not be possible to fully staff CGWHQ with 4,000 people in time.<ref name="Hennessy">{{cite book|title=The Secret State: Preparing For The Worst 1945 - 2010|page=141|author=Peter Hennessy|publisher=Penguin|year=2014|isbn=978-0141979205}}</ref>

PYTHON became active on 1 May 1968 and described in the 1968 update to the Government War Book.<ref>CAB 21/5655 Government War Book, The National Archives</ref>