§ Mr. Hugh Jenkinsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is Her Majesty's Government's policy arising from the decision of the United States Government to deploy an anti-ballistic missile system; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. George ThomsonAs my hon. Friend will know, the United States and the Soviet Union have agreed to start talks on Strategic Arms Limitation in Helsinki on 17th November. Antiballistic missile systems will no doubt form a part of the subsequent negotiations. Her Majesty's Government hope that these talks, which in our view offer the best hope of controlling the nuclear arms race, will be successful. In these circumstances I should prefer not to comment at this stage on specific decisions taken by either Government in the strategic arms field.