HC Deb 21 January 1980 vol 977 cc80-1W
Mr. Cryer

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the shortest anticipated time between detection of a nuclear missile attack and the arrival of these missiles upon likely targets in the United Kingdom, assuming (a) an attack as part of an offensive against both the United States of America and the United Kingdom, (b) an attack against the United Kingdom alone and (c) that the places of launch and trajectory of the missiles are known.

Mr. Pym

Assuming a completely surprise attack, which I consider unlikely, and depending on the place of launch, warning time could, in the worst case, be a matter of minutes.

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