HC Deb 27 July 1982 vol 28 c916
12. Mr. Cryer

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the timetable for work on Trident.

Mr. Nott

Planning and design work on Trident is under way to allow its introduction into service in the mid-1990s.

Mr. Cryer

Does the Minister accept that the Trident programme represents an escalation in the nuclear arms race from 48 missiles per submarine to over 200, that it will not add to our defence capability in any sense, but will endanger the nation, and that is typical of a Government who put warmongering and belligerence before peace and reconciliation, and of a Prime Minister who wants to turn the Church of England into part of the propaganda machine for the war effort of the Tory Party?

Mr. Nott

A desire to defend one's country is not warmongering, and the possession of a nuclear deterrent, to which all Governments have subscribed since the war, is an essential part of our defence. Trident is not an escalation of the arms race.

Mr. Cryer

It is.

Mr. Nott

When it is introduced it will form roughly the same proportion of the total number of missiles in service as Polaris represented when it was introduced.

Mr. Robert Atkins

Is my right hon. Friend satisfied that British companies are receiving a fair share of whatever offset agreements have been arranged? If he is not satisfied with the terms of the arrangements, will he make every effort to encourage the Americans to allow more British participation in this important project?

Mr. Nott

I am satisfied that we are making every opportunity available to British industry to compete in this programme. The Trident programme is well advanced in the United States, and British firms will have to fight hard to obtain subcontracts. My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement has discussed this matter in Washington recently and the Americans have changed the "Buy American" rules to make it possible for British industry to compete. The opportunities are there, and I believe that British industry will be successful in obtaining some subcontracts.