HL Deb 24 July 1985 vol 466 cc1356-7WA
Lord Shinwell

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether, in the event of military aggression against the United Kingdom, it would be possible to organise and use effectively a sufficient number of vessels, transport, stores, equipment and reserves of manpower successfully to resist that aggression.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces (Lord Trefgarne)

As theStatement on the Defence Estimates made clear, the foundation of the nation's security is the North Atlantic Alliance, which aims to deter military aggression of any kind. The forward defence of the United Kingdom derives in the first place from our forces in Europe and the Eastern Atlantic; but in the last few years we have been devoting substantial and growing resources to the conventional defence of the United Kingdom itself. Our nuclear forces also make a significant contribution to alliance deterrence and are capable of being employed independently when supreme national interests are at stake.