§ Mr. Marlowasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether there is any way in which the costs of a Birtish independent nuclear deterrent could be pooled with our European partners as a stage to forming an independent European deterrent.
§ Mr. PymThere would be immense difficulties in trying to devise such a scheme. For example the European members of NATO, with the exception of France, are parties to the 1969 nuclear non-proliferation treaty which prohibits non-nuclear weapons States from acquiring or seeking to acquire nuclear weapons or control over them. Under the treaty, the United Kingdom is prohibited from transferring nuclear weapons or control over them to any recipient.