HC Deb 08 December 1983 vol 50 cc240-1W
Mr. Deakins

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he is satisfied that a potential enemy would be able to distinguish between ground-launched cruise missiles carrying conventional warheads and those carrying nuclear warheads.

Mr. Stanley

No NATO country has so far deployed ground launched cruise missiles with conventional rather than nuclear warheads, so this question does not arise.

Mr. Deakins

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if, in the context of the intermediate nuclear force disarmament talks, any difficulties have been identified in respect of verification for arms control purposes relating to ground-launched cruise missiles.

Mr. Stanley

In the INF talks in Geneva both sides agreed that verification provisions would need to form part of any agreement, but there has been little detailed discussion of this aspect to date.