Electropulse weapon fear spreads to UK politicos

A campaign by US right wingers, designed to raise fears of an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack they allege could cripple Western nations and lead to chaos, is targeting British politicians, with some success.

James Arbuthnot, the Conservative chairman of the Defence Select Committee, recently questioned the government’s preparedness against the supposed threat, which critics dismiss as scaremongering and say is promoted to lobby for defence spending.

Following the publication of the UK’s updated National Security Strategy earlier this month, he asked the Home Secretary Alan Johnson “what recent discussions he has had on electromagnetic pulses”.

Arbuthnot’s office told The Register the question was prompted by a material received from EMPACT America Inc, an EMP lobby group that runs an annual conference, open to members of the public for $50 per ticket.

Avi Schnurr, the group’s president – and also executive director of the Israel Missile Defence Association, another hawkish lobbying organisation – gave a presentation at a meeting of parliamentarians on July 6.

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