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Bianca Jagger, at the Global Summit for a Nuclear Weapon-Free World

Activists have accused the government of maintaining double standards on the issue of nuclear weapons.

At the Global Summit for a Nuclear Weapon-Free World, speakers called on Gordon Brown to "make good" the promise to abolish nuclear weapons in the UK before advocating such measures abroad.

Dr Rebecca Johnson of the Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy said: "It is simply not enough to extol the vision of a nuclear free world while billions are already being spent on equipping AWE Aldermaston (the Atomic Weapons Establishment and home of Trident warhead production) with a new laser and supercomputer to design more warheads."

Addressing a conference of anti-nuclear campaigners, experts and policy think-tank members, she called on the government to implement "concrete policies and actions" and acknowledge its responsibility as a world power.

The conference, at City Hall, central London, marked the 50th anniversary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).

Dr Johnson added: "What really prevents the nuclear genie from being put back in its bottle is not the existence of knowledge or materials, but the high value still accorded to nuclear weapons, particularly by states that have them."

Council of Europe Goodwill Ambassador, Bianca Jagger supported her position and condemned the notion that nuclear deterrence was vital to national security. The peace activist told the CND: "The idea that the £20 billion needed to finance refurbishment of the UK's Trident submarines will provide us with an independent nuclear deterrent is nonsense. Trident renewal will make it far more difficult to get arms reduction around the world."

Applauding South Africa for its total disarmament, Ms Jagger called on Gordon Brown to ban nuclear testing forever and commit to upholding nuclear weapons conventions.

Speakers at the conference also insisted the existing steps taken towards global disarmament had not been sufficient.

UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Sergio Duarte, said: "There appears to be a gap between the international commitments to disarmament and the domestic institutional means to implement them, especially relative to the infrastructures and budgets devoted to maintaining or improving arsenals."