§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the first Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether components for a uranium enrichment plant near Rawalpindi designed to produce a nuclear bomb, have been sold from Britain to the Pakistan Government.
§ Lord TREFGARNEMy Lords, there are goods having a general industrial application which could also be used as components in a nuclear facility. Such goods, which are available worldwide, are not under export control. They could therefore have been exported to Pakistan or anywhere else. There is, however, a range of goods and materials, including equipment and components specially designed for nuclear facilities, which is under control to all destinations. This range is kept under review, and applications to export such goods are given the closest scrutiny in accordance with the importance the Government attach to non-proliferation.
§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. Is it not the case that, through Pakistani agencies, a firm at Swansea had made two deliveries of uranium to Pakistan before the Department of Energy made any inquiries as to its use for military nuclear purposes? Is it not also the case that there is a factory in Cheshire financed by an international consortium called URENCO, from whose Dutch plant plans have been sent to Pakistan; has not the United States now stopped aid for this project, and will our Government do the same?
§ Lord TREFGARNEMy Lords, we do have information of some components supplied to Pakistan last year that might have been used for the enrichment facility which they have, we understand, established, but I have no information on any other goods supplied. Certainly the matter referred to by the noble Lord sounds to me to be speculation.
§ Lord WYNNE-JONESMy Lords, can the noble Lord say whether the particular equipment which is said to have been supplied to Pakistan is the centrifugal enrichment equipment? If it is, would he not agree that this is a very grave matter? Would he not also agree that this country, like the whole of Western Europe, is in fact very much dependent upon American good will with regard to uranium enrichment, and that if we do not obey the rules which are generally laid down we really make it almost impossible for the Americans to agree to supply us with any enriched uranium or any of the various facilities required for the fast breeder reactor, for instance?
§ Lord TREFGARNEMy Lords, I certainly agree that we ought to obey all the rules, and we certainly honour all our obligations under the non-proliferation treaty. We did not supply centrifugal enrichment equipment to the Pakistanis. We did supply some frequency changers, otherwise known as inverters, but that is not the same as the equipment itself.
§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, in view of the statement in another place, that there is to be a tripartite arrangement between West Germany, the Netherlands and this country to control classified materials, may I ask the Minister whether he regards that as adequate when there is now concern that Pakistan may be developing a hydrogen bomb, as well as an atom bomb, which might be used in a war in the Middle East ?
§ Lord TREFGARNEMy Lords, the Pakistanis have said that all their research and development work is designed to exploit the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
§ Lord BOYD-CARPENTERMy Lords, arising out of that answer, can my noble friend say whether the installation in question is a safeguarded or an unsafe-guarded one?
§ Lord TREFGARNEMy Lords, it is an unsafeguarded facility; that is to say, it does not fall under the control of the International Atomic Energy Authority.