§ 8. Mr. George Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made at the review conference on the nuclear nonproliferation treaty; and what proposals Her Majesty's Government intend to pursue.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Tim Renton)We are pleased that, in contrast to 1980, this year the review conference produced an agreed document. We warmly welcome this. We intend to work to implement the conference's recommendations for improving the International Atomic Energy Authority safeguards system, and the transfer of nuclear technology to developing countries. Many of the recommendations were proposed by the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. RobertsonThe most important measure sought at the review conference was the conference on the comprehensive test ban treaty. Does not the Government's stance on verification look increasingly feeble, because the new technical developments, as even the technology page in yesterday's Financial Times showed, would make detection and verification simple? We should ask the Government to review their position on the subject, or be driven to the conclusion that the United Kingdom is resistant to the possibility of such a treaty because it wants to test its own Trident missiles before preventing people from conducting similar tests.
§ Mr. RentonYes, I too read the article in yesterday's Financial Times. I agree that the experiments in Norway lead to a possible avenue which is well worth pursuing. The key requirement continues to be for the Soviet Union to accept the monitors that have now been invented. I disagree wholeheartedly with the hon. Gentleman's final point. We are committed to the goal of an effective comprehensive test ban, but the word effective is crucial to this. We are not yet convinced that verification developments can lead to a foolproof test ban system.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryDoes my hon. Friend agree that one of the greatest threats that we face is the 263 acquisition of nuclear weapons by unstable and fanatical regimes? Will he vigorously support proposals to open all nuclear installations to international inspection and to halt the spread of uranium enrichment technology?
§ Mr. RentonYes, Sir. One of the successes of the nonproliferation treaty, to which another 17 countries have become members in the past five years, has been the halting of horizontal proliferation of nuclear weapons, while encouraging peaceful uses of nuclear energy.