§ Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will make a statement about the talks between his Department and the United States Government regarding consideration of stockpiling offensive chemical weapons;
(2) if the offensive chemical weapons which he is discussing with the United States Government, including nerve gas bombs, are to be based in the United Kingdom; if he will resist any build-up of chemical weapons by the United Kingdom or her allies; and whether he will refuse to grant facilities for such weapons to be based in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. PymThe Government remain committed to seeking a verifiable arms control agreement banning chemical weapons, but the Soviet Union's unwillingness to accept the very necessary verification measures means we cannot hope for early progress. In the absence of such an agreement the Government must continue to view with concern the 693W Soviet Union's massive offensive chemical warfare capability. We have discussed Soviet chemical threat, as we have other aspects of the Soviet threat, with the United States. Whether the United States eventually decides to manufacture new chemical weapons is a matter for the United States Government. The United Kingdom has no plans to acquire chemical weapons or to base chemical weapons in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Secretary of State for Defence what evidence he has that the build-up of chemical weapons by Soviet Russia, as distinct from the parallel build-up of anti-gas protection, has taken place since 1971.
§ Mr. PymThere is no doubt that the Soviet Union has a massive offensive chemical warfare capability, the effectiveness of which, unlike that of the West, has been maintained in recent years. It would not, of course, be in the national interest to provide detailed information of the sort requested by the hon. Member.