Trident alternatives review to be published despite MoD opposition

In the face of fierce opposition from the Ministry of Defence, next week the government will publish a long-promised document on alternatives to the Trident nuclear missile system in a move that will set the terms for an intense debate about Britain's military and diplomatic status.

MoD resistance to the release of any material that might be used against its ambition to upgrade the existing Trident system at a cost of tens of billions of pounds provoked a bitter dispute in Whitehall, the Guardian has learned. One well placed source described the row as "pretty bloody".

So serious was the dispute that David Cameron told the cabinet secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood, to bang heads together to reach an agreement on what information should be released and what should remain classified.

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