Nuclear Weapons (Hansard, 27 October 2003)

§ Mr. Keetch
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his Department will provide a precise figure for the number of nuclear warheads stockpiled by the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [133757]

§ Mr. Hoon
In 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 under Exemption 1 (Defence, Security and International Relations) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
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§ Mr. Keetch
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the approximate yield is of the warheads deployed on the United Kingdom's Trident missiles; and if he will make a statement. [133758]

§ Mr. Hoon
I am withholding the information requested under Exemption 1 (Defence, Security and International Relations) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information for reasons of national security.

§ Mr. Keetch
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the United Kingdom's nuclear weapons are also assigned to NATO. [133759]

§ Mr. Hoon
Yes, but they remain under United Kingdom national control at all times.

§ Mr. Keetch
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the sub-strategic role is of the United Kingdom's nuclear weapons; and if he will make a statement. [133760]

§ Mr. Hoon
The Government set out its nuclear deterrence policy in the Strategic Defence Review. I particularly refer the hon. Gentleman to chapter four and Supporting Essay Five.

§ Mr. Keetch
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many United States nuclear weapons are based in the United Kingdom; what the purpose is of their deployment; and if he will make a statement. [133718]

§ Mr. Hoon
As 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 the North American members of the alliance. The alliance will therefore maintain adequate nuclear forces in Europe.'
Numbers of US 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. I am therefore withholding the information under Exemption 1 (Defence, security and international relations) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.