§ Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for Defence what evidence he has that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is developing a system of charged particule beams capable of destroying NATO missiles; and if, within the limits of national security and Anglo-American confidentiality, he will make a statement on his advisers' evaluation of the present state of Russian technology in this and related fields.
§ Mr. MulleyWe have no reason to suppose that the USSR has succeeded in developing such a weapon. And President Carter said on 4th May that he, too, had no such evidence. It is not our practice to give detailed reasons for such judgments.