HC Deb 01 December 1980 vol 995 c46W
Mr. Frank Allaun

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether it is the policy of Her Majesty's Government to regard their nuclear armaments as first strike weapons; and what are the circumstances in which they could be so used.

Mr. Pym

Britain's nuclear forces make an important contribution to NATO's strategy of deterring aggression. That strategy does not encompass any concept of a "first strike", that is one intended pre-emptively to destroy a substantial part of an adversary's nuclear forces.