§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether in the light of British firms' contribution to projects concerned with Theatre Missile Defences—i.e., anti-ballistic missiles intended for use against missiles of less than intercontinental range—they have discussed such projects with the United States Administration; and whether in their view the deployment of such anti-ballistic missiles would be compatible with the letter or the spirit of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (The Earl of Arran)The UK currently has no Theatre Missile Defence (TMD) programmes. In this context, TMD is intended for use against tactical ballistic missiles, and intercontinental missiles used at less than their design ranges. Under the US Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), British firms are involved in all areas of the SDI programme, including research into TMD. Research work under SDI does not violate the ABM Treaty. While it is believed that any future deployment of a ground-based limited protection system against tactical missiles would be treaty-compliant, interpretation of the treaty conditions is a matter for the US and the Soviet Union.