§ Mr. Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to provide the figure for the total number of operational nuclear warheads in the United Kingdom's stockpile; and if he will make a statement. [51138]
§ Mr. IngramIn line with the policy set out in the Strategic Defence Review, we have fewer than 200 operationally available warheads. It would not be in the interests of national security to be more precise than this, and I am therefore withholding the information sought under Exemption 1 (Defence, Security and International Relations) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information. The right hon. Member may like to note that the United Kingdom is widely agreed already to be the most transparent country in the world about its holdings of nuclear weapons.