§ Q13. Mr. Brothertonasked the Prime Minister what discussions he has had during 1975 with NATO countries about the United Kingdom's defence obligations to that organisation.
§ The Prime MinisterThere have been no discussions about our defence obligations to NATO; these have never been in doubt. The Statement on the Defence Estimates 1975 (Cmnd. 5976) underlines our commitment to the North Atlantic Alliance which is the linchpin of British security and which will remain the first charge on our defence resources. The statement also gives a full account of the detailed consultations which we have held with our NATO allies since December last year about the effects of our defence 141W review on our force contributions to NATO.