§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps were taken to notify parties to the intermediate nuclear forces agreement of the transfer of eight cruise missile launchers from RAF Greenham Common to Boscombe Down airfield between 20 March and 5 April; why they were transferred; how their transfer affects the right to access for on-site inspection under the intermediate nuclear forces agreement; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe INF treaty, which is a bilateral agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union, allows either party to deploy treaty-limited items such as missile launchers within designated deployment areas for unspecified periods of time without the need to notify the other party. This arrangement has, I understand, worked well and given neither party any cause for concern.
As the hon. Member is aware, it is not our practice to comment upon operational details. I can, however, say that the launch vehicles were not transferred directly from RAF Greenham Common to A&AEE Boscombe Down, but spent time there during an off-base deployment which left Greenham Common on 14 March and returned there on 12 April. As this took place within the United Kingdom deployment area, there was no requirement for the United States to inform the Soviet Union, and no such steps were taken.
On-site inspections can only take place at specified locations, which in the United Kingdom are RAF Greenham Common and RAF Molesworth. Whenever an inspection is called, which is always at short notice, it is possible that treaty-limited items will be deployed away from those locations. This is accepted by both parties.