§ 19. Miss Richardsonasked the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions have taken place within the context of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Alliance with the French Defence Minister concerning the testing of the French neutron bomb; or if any bilateral discussions have taken place.
§ Mr. PymI refer the hon. Lady to the answer that I gave earlier today to the hon. Members for Sheffield, Hillsborough (Mr. Flannery) and Aberdare (Mr. Evans).
§ Miss RichardsonMay I remind the Secretary of State and the House about a petition that attracted more than 250,000 signatures some time ago, from people in Britain who were apprehensive about the Government of that time developing the neutron bomb? Will he convey those apprehensions to the French Government, and reconsider his decision to discuss the matter with them?
§ Mr. PymI note the hon. Lady's remarks. As I said earlier, I am sure that the French are thinking about the possibility of that weapon in the context of increasing their deterrent capability.