§ Mr. Simon ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether US nuclear weapons will be withdrawn from the UK as part of the current withdrawal of US nuclear weapons from Europe; and if he will make a statement. [169131]
§ Mr. HoonAs stated in NATO's Strategic Concept (paragraph 63)
nuclear forces based in Europe and committed to NATO provide an essential political and military link between the European and North American members of the Alliance. The Alliance will therefore maintain adequate nuclear forces in Europe.Numbers of United States nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom can and do vary, and the capability for deployments of such weapons to and from the UK remains extant regardless of the particular number of weapons in the UK at any given time.
It is NATO and national policy not to comment on the detail of such nuclear deployments.