§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will give as much information as is consistent with security considerations about the extent to which nuclear weapons in British hands may be used at the sole discretion of the United Kingdom Government.
§ Mr. MasonAs I made clear in the defence debate on 2nd July, the whole of our nuclear capability is committed to NATO. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister reminded the House on 24th June that if NATO should collapse—if there should be no NATO—we should have to take our own decisions. But so long as NATO exists these weapons will be committed to the Alliance; and while so committed, all our weapons remain subject to political control through Alliance consultation procedures, and could in no circumstances be used without the consent of British Ministers.