§ 46. Mr. Masonasked the Prime Minister what consideration was given to the banning of the thermo-nuclear tests by international agreement during his discussions with President Eisenhower.
§ The Prime MinisterI would refer the hon. Member to the statement I made on 13th February, to which I have nothing to add.
§ Mr. MasonWhile I realise that the Prime Minister is hesitant on this matter because we are about to test a hydrogen bomb, may I ask if he realises that an agreement would take time to conclude? When will the right hon. Gentleman really act in this matter? To what extent has the Prime Minister received official intimation of the willingness of Russia to co-operate in banning all thermo-nuclear tests?
§ The Prime MinisterThe second part of the supplementary question encroaches on two Questions on the Order Paper which have yet to be answered. I dealt with the first part of the supplementary question in my statement, and I have nothing to add to that today.
§ 47. Mr. Warbeyasked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the fact that Mr. Khrushchev has officially proposed an agreement to ban tests of thermo-nuclear weapons only, excluding other nuclear weapons, he will now invite the principal Governments concerned to confer on ways and means of implementing such a ban.
§ 48. Mr. K. Robinsonasked the Prime Minister if his attention has been called to the official statement of Mr. Khrushchev, in a speech opening the Communist Party Congress on 14th February, that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was agreeable to the ending of experimentation with thermonuclear weapons; and if he will now explore, in conjunction with our American Allies, the possibility of reaching international agreement on this subject.
§ The Prime MinisterHer Majesty's Government have received no official approach on this subject from the Soviet Government.
From reports of Mr. Khrushchev's statement to the Communist Party Congress, it appears that he was considering the question of tests in the context of disarmament. This, in the view of Her Majesty's Government, is the proper framework for consideration of this problem. I would, however, remind the House of the difficulties of establishing effective controls. This is the crux of the problem, and I note that Mr. Khrushchev did not suggest any way of meeting this difficulty.
If the Soviet Government have formal and concrete proposals to put forward, there will be an opportunity for them to make their views known officially when the Disarmament Sub-Committee meets early next month.
§ Mr. WarbeyCan the Prime Minister say, first, whether he knows of any way of testing a thermo-nuclear weapon without the fact being discovered in every part of the world? Secondly, in view of the fact that Mr. Khrushchev's statement was made in the context of partial steps in 197 advance of a general disarmament convention, will the Prime Minister look at the matter again and adopt a more forthcoming attitude than he did in his statement on the Washington talks?
§ The Prime MinisterI do not think that my attitude is unforthcoming. My attitude is that I know that the Soviet Government, having had a series of tests, propose that everybody else should stop theirs. That is quite an interesting proposal, and I am perfectly ready to discuss it, provided that we can work out a reasonable system of control. The other thing I brought back—quite clearly, I thought—from Washington was that if tests are carried out under effective control—that is, intelligently and carefully carried out—the danger which was thought to exist is now believed by scientific opinion to be very much less. I ask the House to be good enough to await the medical reports which will be published about that both in this country and in the United States.
§ Mr, StokesFollowing what the Prime Minister has implied, may I ask whether he has seriously considered the possibility of starting discussions on this subject on the basis that there should be a limited number of bangs by each country, after which there should be none? Has this been considered?
§ The Prime MinisterThe right hon. Gentleman, I think, will know, without plagiarism, that something of that kind was suggested by me some time ago. The difficulty of these matters is really that of control. The hon. Member for Ashfield (Mr. Warbey) asked whether it was possible for an explosion not to be discovered. I should like notice of that; it clearly depends upon the size of the 198 explosion. What the right hon. Member for Ipswich (Mr. Stokes) has said is not absent from my mind. I think he will agree that it is related to what the effect of these tests may or may not be on the health of the nation as a whole.
§ Mr. RobinsonThe Prime Minister is very hesitant about this today. Hitherto, there has been no suggestion that it was not possible to detect any nuclear explosion anywhere in the world. This is something new which we are hearing for the first time. Why is the Prime Minister not prepared to take the initiative? Does he recall that the last time there was a proposal from the Soviet Union, he said it was unofficial because it was made by Moscow Radio? Could anything be more official and definite than a statement made by Mr. Khrushchev at the Communist Party Conference?
§ The Prime MinisterCertainly, Mr. Khrushchev made this statement—and I welcome it—following on the tests which the Soviet Government have just completed. It is equally true that Mr. Khrushchev had not dealt with the difficult problem of controlling the tests. We all know that it exists. It is to discuss this kind of thing that the Disarmament Sub-Committee meets next month. I should have thought that that was the right place, and not at Question Time, to try to work out these difficult matters.