§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he remains con- 393W vinced that Soviet offensive chemical warfare capabilities and intentions make it necessary to the United Kingdom to have a policy of possessing such weapons;
(2) what talks are in progress with the United States Government about chemical warfare weapons; what matters are being discussed; whether the discussions include the possibility of American long-range chemical weapons being stationed in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement to the House prior to any such commitment being entered upon.
§ Mr. PymI refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer which I gave to his hon. Friend the Member for Salford, East (Mr. Allaun) on 7 November 1980.—(Vol. 991, c.692–93.]
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether there is any evidence to indicate that the Soviet Union has limited its chemical warfare capacity to a posture of deterrence through threat of retaliation in kind.
§ Mr. PymI know of no such evidence; there is no justification for the maintenance by the Soviet Union of a massive chemical warfare capability, which greatly exceeds the limited capability of the United States.
§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Defence what studies his Department has conducted in support of the United States-Soviet agreement announced in July regarding on-site inspection for verification under the chemical warfare disarmament treaty; and whether they are sufficient to ensure that the United Kingdom will be able to make substantive contributions to the negotiations when the Committee on Disarmament resumes its work in the new year.
§ Mr. PymThe Government believe that a comprehensive and verifiable ban on chemical weapons would provide the best solution to the threat of chemical warfare. We therefore support the United States-Soviet bilateral negotiations aimed at achieving this objective. In their joint report to the Committee on Disarmament in July 1980 the United States and Soviet Union announced a measure of agreement on the right to request on-site inspection to monitor compliance with a394W convention. No agreement has yet been reached on whether the granting of such a request should be mandatory, nor on the application of on-site inspection to the destruction of stockpiles of chemical munitions. Numerous studies on the verification of a chemical weapons convention have been conducted by successive United Kingdom Governments, academics and international bodies. The Government will continue to keep progress in chemical weapons arms control under review. We shall also continue to play a full part in discussion on this subject in the Committee on Disarmament.