§ LORD KENNETMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will propose the establishment. under appropriate international auspices, of a reconnaissance satellite agency to make available to interested Governments information about the location of offensive and defensive forces in the world.]
EARL FERRERSMy Lords, I do not believe that this would be a practicable proposition at the present time.
§ LORD KENNETMy Lords, are the Government aware that this proposal was made by President Nixon during the course of his campaign for the Presidency late in 1969? Will the Government bear in mind that if it was a good idea then, it probably still is now?
EARL FERRERSMy Lords, the Government will certainly bear that in mind, but I can only repeat that at the moment they do not believe that this is a practicable proposition
§ LORD KENNETMy Lords, if I may press the noble Earl a little further, does he mean practicable from the mechanical point of view or from the political point of view?
EARL FERRERSMy Lords, from the political point of view: for the simple 522 reason that the types of thing which would be likely to be (for want of a better word) photographed by such an agency would be particularly sensitive to the various countries concerned, and it would be unlikely that those countries would agree to such an arrangement as the noble Lord has suggested.
§ LORD KENNETMy Lords, is the noble Earl unaware that such things are at present photographed by American satellites without any agreement at all?
EARL FERRERSMy Lords, what the noble Lord has suggested is that there should be a satellite agency which should make such information available to interested Governments. It is the view of Her Majesty's Government that this is unlikely to be generally acceptable.