§ 15. Mr. Brooksasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he proposes to continue to obtain the total enriched uranium requirement for Great Britain's nuclear armament from gas diffusion plant.
§ Mr. John MorrisNo, Sir. The assessment made in 1963 that supplies of fissile material already available or assured would be sufficient to meet all defence requirements for the foreseeable future is still valid. Production of U235 for military purposes at Capenhurst Gas Diffusion Plant ceased in 1963, and there are no current plans to resume this production.
§ Mr. BrooksWill not my hon. Friend agree that if this new and very exciting technology, which many of us welcome as an expression of European collaboration in the peaceful uses of atomic energy, were to prove very successful economically in relation to the old technology, it could precipitate a very new and grave turn of events in the European and worldwide nuclear arms race?
§ Mr. MorrisMy hon. Friend will be aware that the agreement we have reached with two other countries is a civil agreement and not a matter for the Ministry of Defence?