§ 17. Mr. Pikeasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he is satisfied that nuclear weapons based on United States vessels in United Kingdom territorial waters cannot be used without the approval of Her Majesty's Government.
§ Mr. HeseltineThe operations of United States vessels in British waters are covered by long-standing bilateral and Allied arrangements. We, like successive British Governments, are satisfied with these arrangements.
§ Mr. PikeWill the Secretary of State accept that the majority of the public in this country are concerned about 817 the Government's answers that this is always by long-term agreement and understanding? Does he not understand that people want positive assurances from the Government that nuclear weapons based on ships in British territorial waters are on our land and will not be used if the United States of America is under threat? How can we assure the public that they will not be so used?
§ Mr. HeseltineIn the same way as all Labour and Conservative Governments since the war have succeeded in doing.
§ Mr. Andrew F. BennettWill the Secretary of State confirm that the United States Government now have funding for an integrated plan for the targeting of all its nuclear weapons? How will Britain have any veto over certain weapons if they are part of an integrated plan?
§ Mr. HeseltineWe have the advantage of profound and wide-scale discussions with the United States about the use of all their levels of military capability. Our problem is that we have no such discussions with the Soviet Union, which has just the same scale of nuclear capacity. That is the one factor which the Labour party simply will not face.