Nuclear Weapons (Hansard, 2 July 1997)

§ Lord Jenkins of Putney
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will include in the current defence review plans to move towards the achievement of their object of eliminating nuclear weapons.

§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Gilbert)
My Lords, we have made clear our commitment to the goal of the global elimination of nuclear weapons and our intention to press for multilateral negotiations towards mutual, balanced and verifiable reductions in nuclear weapons. We are examining how best to implement that commitment, particularly in the context of the Strategic Defence Review.

§ Lord Jenkins of Putney
My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that very good Answer. Can he give the House a little more detail as to the direction in which the Government are moving and whether they have plans to consult other nuclear powers with a view to forming a common policy towards elimination?

§ Lord Gilbert
My Lords, my noble friend will realise that it is far too early to anticipate where the results of the Strategic Defence Review will lead us.
My noble friend will probably wish to take into consideration the fact that other nuclear weapon states will also probably be concerned about other weapons of mass destruction, like chemical and biological weapons, when they come to their conclusions as to how to approach global nuclear disarmament.

§ Lord Taylor of Gryfe
My Lords, can the Minister give us more information about the review? Will representations be received from organisations and individuals concerned with the abolition of nuclear weapons to discussions held by the Government or the department? Alternatively, is this purely an internal review?

§ Lord Gilbert
My Lords, I am happy to give my noble friend some good news. The Secretary of State for Defence has made it absolutely clear that at the end of the review he wants no one to be in a position to say that their voice was not heard. At least one representative from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament has been invited to one of our all-day seminars.

§ Lord Chalfont
My Lords, does the Minister recall that in the gracious Speech which opened this Parliament one sentence stated that it is the intention of Her Majesty's Government to keep, strong armed forces, including the nuclear deterrent"? Lest there be any misunderstanding, will the Minister confirm that that remains the policy of Her Majesty's Government?

§ Lord Gilbert
My Lords, it certainly remains the policy of Her Majesty's Government to keep a minimum strategic deterrent in the form of Trident. I would not be standing at this Dispatch Box if that were not the case.

§ Lord Judd
My Lords, does the Minister agree that the principles of the non-proliferation treaty would be immensely strengthened if the three smaller nuclear powers were to make a declaration that, as long as Russia and the United States continue to decrease the number of their nuclear weapons, there will be no question of our increasing our own arsenal? Will the Minister assure the House that this principle will in any case apply to the number of warheads deployed on Trident?

§ Lord Gilbert
My Lords, as regards the suggestion of a get-together by what my noble friend calls the "smaller nuclear powers", I possibly touched on the point in the earlier reply which I gave to the noble Lord, Lord Jenkins. There is not much more that I can add at this stage.

Earl Howe
My Lords, what is the Government's approach to the possibility of a fissile material cut-off treaty? Do they agree that such a treaty would be a useful step towards containing nuclear proliferation?

§ Lord Gilbert
My Lords, at the moment we are conducting negotiations about the kind of range and subjects that this fissile material cut-off treaty should cover. I cannot help the noble Earl much further at this stage but I shall be happy to get back to him.

Lord Renton
My Lords, can the Minister say whether it is known to where the various nuclear missiles which were in various states of the former Soviet Union have now gone?

§ Lord Gilbert
My Lords, I think I am right in saying that all the land-based ICBMs, if that is what the noble Lord is interested in, are now on the territory of the Republic of Russia.

§ Lord Jenkins of Putney
My Lords, can my noble friend confirm that the strategic review will perhaps 201 succeed in solving the apparent contradiction between the retention of Trident on the one hand and devotion to elimination on the other? Is it not therefore the case that the particular undertaking so far as concerns Trident must necessarily be subservient to the general undertaking to eliminate?

§ Lord Gilbert
My Lords, nothing is subservient to Her Majesty's Government's intention to ensure that this country remains properly defended. That is why we said what we did say about the strategic system of Trident. I do not therefore see the inconsistency to which my noble friend alludes.