HC Deb 23 June 1981 vol 7 cc120-2
2. Mr. Hal Miller

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether any changes in the United Kingdom NATO roles are envisaged in his defence review.

6. Mr. Adley

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to match United Kingdom deterrent capability to the level of external threat.

17. Mr. Latham

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a statement on the progress of his review of future defence commitments arid resources.

The Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. John Nott)

The Government attach overriding priority to the improvement of the nation's defences within the framework of our present NATO roles. We have been reviewing our forward programme to see whether we can further enhance our front-line capability within the rising defence budget. If I can catch your eye, Mr. Speaker, I hope to make a statement on this subject this Thursday.

Mr. Miller

Will my right hon. Friend assure the House that there will be no change in our NATO roles? If it is necessary to change them, will he give an assurance that the discussion in the review will proceed on the basis of deciding on the role and subsequently on the appropriate level of forces to meet it?

Mr. Nott

There are no proposals to change the roles that we perform in NATO. As I have said many times before, we are considering how we can most effectively perform each of those roles within a rising defence budget.

Mr. Adley

Is my right hon. Friend aware that most of my constituents accept and, indeed, insist that the Government provide adequate deterrent defence for the United Kingdom, although sometimes their experience is not quite so up to date as it might be? Will my right hon. Friend reassure them that the Government retain a total commitment to adequate defence? Secondly, will he reassure them about his judgment, and that of his colleagues, in the light of the need for such a commitment and in the light of the decisions that he will be taking in the defence review?

Mr. Nott

I ask my hon. Friend to await my statement on Thursday. However, he can assure his constituents that I am just as keen on maintaining the deterrent of our forces in this country as are his constituents.

Mr. Latham

If on Thursday my right hon. Friend gives any indication of a change in British commitments towards NATO, whether land, sea or air, will he indicate which nation he expects to take over our commitments and whether it has accepted that obligation?

Mr. Nott

I have already said that we perform a number of roles within a NATO context. We have been examining ways in which we can perform those roles more effectively. I have never said that we shall withdraw from any of our NATO commitments. This is one of the many hypotheses and speculations that I have read in the newspapers.

Mr. McNamara

When the right hon. Gentleman is discussing, with the Americans and others, the nuclear deterrent, whether strategic or tactical, will he draw to their attention that when the next Labour Government are formed they will have neither a strategic nor a tactical deterrent? What effect will that have on our defence?

Mr. Nott

Labour Governments tend to behave rather differently when they achieve power compared to the announcements that Labour Oppositions make while seeking it. I do not think that this matter is likely to be tested in the foreseeable future. However, if it were to be, I rather doubt whether the outcome would be as the hon. Gentleman suggests.

Sir Patrick Wall

As 70 per cent. of the escort forces in the Eastern Atlantic area are provided by the Royal Navy, would not any cuts in the strength of the Royal Navy's escort forces totally unbalance the entire NATO defences? What did the Americans have to say about this when my right hon. Friend was in Washington?

Mr. Nott

I followed my hon. Friend around in Washington over the weekend. From all reports my hon. Friend was being most helpful in Washington. There are many different ways of performing our crucial role in the Eastern Atlantic. As my hon. Friend says, a substantial escort force is an important part of the overall responsibility. I must ask my hon. Friend to await my statement on Thursday.

Mr. John

As any statement that the right hon. Gentleman makes will obviously have an Alliance context, will he be rather more forthcoming than the "sympathetic understanding" formula about his consultations with the Alliance in his statement? Secondly, does the statement of his hon. Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Member for Mid-Oxon (Mr. Hurd), to the Western European Union that Britain envisages no withdrawal of troops from BAOR represent Government policy in the light of the review?

Mr. Nott

That is not what my hon. Friend said to the Western European Union. The hon. Gentleman must await my statement. I am in the process of discussing some of our proposals with our allies. I hope to talk to the NATO Secretary-General later today. Any proposals that we might make will go through the normal consultation process.

Mr. Lyell

Bearing in mind the large quantity of supplies that need to come across the Atlantic in the event of any approaching conflict, or immediately approaching conflict, what proportion of the escort and protective duties on the voyage across the Atlantic will be provided by the Royal Navy?

Mr. Nott

The problem with this subject is that there are many who see the protection of convoys rather in the way that it might have occurred in 1940. Sea reinforcements are critical to sustaining a war in Europe. The way in which they would come across from the United States would be very different from the way in which they came across in the last war. I cannot be drawn too far on this subject. The concept of "convoys" as normally expressed is not quite the way in which it will happen next time round.

Mr. Duffy

There will be no difference in the transportation of materials across the Atlantic. I note that the Secretary of State nods in agreement. Will he bear in mind the concern expressed by his hon. and learned Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (Mr. Lyell) and his hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice (Sir P. Wall)? Throughout the Alliance there is concern about the number of escort vessels that Britain may be able to contribute in future given the rumours about the right hon. Gentleman's intended cuts. There will be concern on the Opposition Benches—

Mr. Speaker

Order. The hon. Gentleman has had a fair crack of the whip.

Mr. Duffy

I had almost finished, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker

I ask the hon. Gentleman to complete his supplementary question as quickly as is humanly possible.

Mr. Duffy

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there will be concern on the Opposition Benches that if his new mix does not come off he will be lowering the nuclear threshold?

Mr. Nott

I am not surprised that there is concern in every part of the House. Some of the reports that have appeared in the press have been enough to concern even the calmest person. The hon. Gentleman must await my statement.