HC Deb 13 November 1984 vol 67 cc522-3
5. Mr. Kirkwood

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will reconsider Her Majesty's Government's decision to purchase the Trident II weapons system.

Mr. Heseltine

No, Sir.

Mr. Kirkwood

Does the Secretary of State agree that the acquisition of the independent Trident II system not only upsets the conventional-nuclear balance and ties us to the United States for both procurement and maitenance, but, even more importantly, flies in the face of recent moves within Europe and the Western European Union towards a more concerted European policy for defence and strategic purposes?

Mr. Heseltine

I do not think that I would agree. Under all post-war Governments Britain has always taken the view that it should maintain its own last-resort nuclear deterrent. That remains the position of the present Government.

Mr. Bill Walker

Was not the decision on Trident II taken in the knowledge that, over the next 30 years, the revenue implications of the alternative systems for providing a credible deterrent were horrendous?

Mr. Heseltine

That most important point was covered in the open government document of 1980, which showed that one of the alternatives—the cruise missile—would have been 30 per cent. more expensive to buy and twice as expensive to operate.

Mr. Soames

Now that there is real hope of progress in East-West talks, particularly under the new umbrella concept, would it not be fatal to destabilise the present and future nuclear balance in Europe, pending multilateral disarmament? Accordingly, will my right hon. Friend press ahead with the programme?

Mr. Heseltine

The Government are totally committed to multinational talks about arms and, I hope, agreements. Now that it seems that talks might start again, the House should remember that we were told that if we proceeded with the deployment of cruise missiles such a constructive dialogue would never take place. However, the Government took the view that a constructive dialogue would become much more likely, and it looks as though we may have been right.

Mr. Denzil Davies

What effect, if any, will the sale of the warships division of British Shipbuilders have on the building of Trident at Barrow? Have not the merchant bankers who are advising the Government said that any prospectus must contain a guarantee to any purchaser that the Government will continue with the Trident programme?

Mr. Heseltine

Our contractual agreements with the builders of the Trident submarine will be exactly what one would expect of an arm's-length relationship between a contractor and the Government.