§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in what way United Kingdom nuclear weapons have been taken into account in previous and current disarmament negotiations between the Eastern and Western blocs.
§ Mr. HurdBritish nuclear weapons have not been placed on the agenda of past or present negotiations to limit and reduce nuclear weapon levels. It is firm NATO policy that British nuclear weapons should not be addressed in the present negotiations in Geneva, but we have made it clear that if circumstances were to change significantly, and the Soviet threat to the United Kingdom reduced substantially, we would be prepared to review the position of British forces in relation to arms control. British nuclear forces are, of course, subject to certain multilateral arms control agreements already in force, such as the partial test ban treaty, the treaty of Tlatelolco and the seabed and outer space treaties, and Britain is taking part in discussions about verifying a comprehensive test ban.
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§ Sir Geoffrey HoweI shall let the right hon. Member have a reply as soon as possible.