§ 26. Mr. George Rodgersasked the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the response to the proposal by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics that there be international agreement that neither NATO, or the Warsaw Pact nations, should be the first to use nuclear weapons in the advent of an East-West conflict.
§ Mr. MulleyI would refer my hon. Friend to the final communique issued after the last meeting of NATO's Council of Ministers on 9th and 10th December, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.
§ 28. Miss Richardsonasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the rôle of first-use of nuclear weapons in NATO strategy.
§ Mr. MulleyNATO's defensive strategy aims to demonstrate to any would-be aggressor that the risks he would run would be unacceptably high. Since we are dealing with a nuclear power, a triad of forces, conventional, theatre nuclear and strategic are needed to make this deterrent credible. Only if514W this failed would we need to use any forces and the precise use of the triad would depend on the circumstances. But clearly we cannot renounce the use of any of the means for defending ourselves if attacked.