§ 12. Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the miniaturisation of Polaris missiles.
§ Mr. CryerI am sorry that my right hon. Friend has not been more forthcoming. Does he accept that there is a great deal of concern about the miniaturisation of Polaris, as a possible forerunner of a new independent missile? Will he assure the House that that is not 217 the case, and that the contract with British Nuclear Fuels for tritium, for example, is not part of a go-it-alone nuclear missile programme that we do not want and cannot afford?
§ Mr. MasonI explained to the House earlier that the independent production of tritium has nothing to do with developing a solely United Kingdom nuclear missile programme. I have told the House many times that the research and development that is going on to maintain the effectiveness of our Polaris missiles has nothing to do with MIRV-ing. We are not proceeding with Poseidon, and we are not developing another generation of strategic nuclear weaponry.