§ 12. Mr. StreeterTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to scrap Trident.
§ Mr. RifkindWe have no plans to scrap Trident, which is the ultimate guarantee of our national security.
§ Mr. StreeterIs my right hon. and learned Friend aware that his reply will greatly reassure all right-thinking people, particularly the 4,000 people in Devon and Cornwall whose jobs rely on the Trident contract? Will he resist calls for a further defence review from the leader of the Labour party and the Labour defence team, all of whom are former members of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament? Is not a review led by such people unlikely to support Trident?
§ Mr. RifkindMy hon. Friend is correct because every defence spokesman on the Opposition Front Bench has been a declared opponent of Britain's nuclear deterrent. We would all be grateful to know whether the shadow Defence Secretary is still a member of CND or has left that organisation because, until now, he has declined to inform either Parliament or the country as a whole.