Trident revolt grows as minister resigns

Government whips have mobilised to stop more Labour MPs joining the revolt against the replacement of the £65bn Trident missile system - after the Deputy Leader of the Commons announcedyesterday he was quitting in protest.

Nigel Griffiths, a long-term ally of Gordon Brown, said he was resigning "with a heavy heart but a clear conscience". Meanwhile, whips were urgently calling in Labour MPs and warning them not to allow Tony Blair to be humiliated by having to depend on the Tories to win a vote tomorrow.

One senior minister said: "We don't want to go into the next election with the Tories saying that we owe our security to them."

But the rebellion was growing last night after former health secretary Frank Dobson and former transport minister Gavin Strang tabled an amendment saying they believe the case for replacing Trident "is not yet proven and remains unconvinced of the need for an early decision". Organisers claimed last night that Charles Clarke, the former home secretary, could become the most senior Labour rebel.

A group of celebrities will lobby MPs to hold firm in the vote tomorrow. They include the singer Annie Lennox, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, Sir Richard Jolly, the former assistant secretary general of the UN, and Bianca Jagger.

Downing Street tried to belittle the rebellion, saying Mr Griffiths was an unpaid minister and other Labour MPs had "always had principled objections to a nuclear deterrent."

But the Labour MPs privately saying they would vote against the Government were not the "usual suspects". They included Fiona McTaggart, a former Home Office minister.

A senior Labour backbencher Barry Sheerman, the normally loyal chairman of the Commons select committee on education, said he was unhappy about the decision and was immediately asked to see the chief whip, Jacqui Smith.

The Liberal Democrats threw their support behind the Labour rebels, after heated talks within the Lib Dem leadership. It could lead to a group of about 10 Tory MPs defying their own three-line whip and voting against the Government.

David Cameron, the Tory leader, has ordered his MPs to vote for the Trident replacement but some Tories accused Tony Blair of rushing the decision to complete his legacy. Many MPs who support nuclear weapons are opposed to Trident on the grounds of its cost and argue that it is outdated by the end of the Cold War.

As the squeeze was put on some wavering Labour MPs, the chairman of the Labour Party, Hazel Blears persuaded her own Parliamentary aide, Steven Pound not to resign but he may abstain in the vote.

Jim Devine, a Parliamentary aide to health minister Rosie Winterton, resigned his post at the weekend and backed the rebel amendment last night. Others backing it include former defence minister Peter Kilfoyle and about 70 Labour MPs, although that number is expected to rise.

Some Labour MPs said they were being forced to sit on obscure committees to avoid getting the chance to speak against the Government in the Commons.

The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith was dragged into the controversy by the rebels with a demand that, before the vote, he should publish the secret legal advice he gave the Cabinet on the renewal of Trident.

Jon Trickett, the Labour MP who is leading the revolt, wrote to Lord Goldsmith calling on him to explain how Britain could replace the nuclear system without breaching the non-proliferation treaty (NPT).

Mr Trickett said Rabinder Singh QC and Professor Christine Chinkin of Matrix Chambers - Cherie Booth's practice - had concluded that a replacement for Trident was likely to breach the NPT.