§ 33. Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Lord Privy Seal if he will enter into negotiations for an extension of the revised Brussels Treaty, so as to cover the manufacture or sale of gas centrifuge units for extracting fissile uranium by West Germany.
§ The Lord Privy Seal (Mr. Edward Heath)No, Sir.
§ Mr. AllaunDoes it not make a mockery of the Treaty to say they forbid nuclear weapons but not fissile material? Will not the Lord Privy Seal take immediate steps to prevent this breach? Otherwise will not cheap H-bombs spread not only to West Germany but to more and more nations, and get completely out of control?
§ Mr. HeathUnder the Brussels Treaty the German Federal Republic is permitted to produce atomic material for peaceful civilian purposes. In addition, under the Brussels Treaty there is an undertaking from the German Federal Republic that atomic weapons will not be manufactured within its territory. Together those two facts cover the situation.
§ Mr. P. Noel-BakerWill the right hon. Gentleman give us a White Paper about this new process, so as to show its real significance both for warlike and for peaceful uses?
§ Mr. HeathI will certainly look into that question. It is not in fact a new process. The idea has been known for some time. It is the first attempt to develop the process.