§ Mr. Wareingasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he proposes to ensure that the British civilian population could be adequately protected from a nuclear attack; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Giles ShawIt is impossible to predict with any certainty the size of a nuclear attack, the targets it would include, or its effects. They would depend on the political and strategic intentions of an enemy at the time. The Government's policy of deterrence aims to prevent an attack of any sort happening.
But in the unlikely event of a nuclear attack, no part of the country could be judged safe from all its effects, and the Government's plans for the protection of the population therefore include a national system of warning and monitoring; the implementation by local authorities of their plans made under the 1983 regulations, including the utilisation of buildings and other structures for public shelter; and for improvement by the public of the shelter already afforded by their own homes. The existing guidance to both local authorities and the public is being revised for issue next year.
280WThis Government do not seek to minimise the consequences of a massive nuclear attack: they would be horrific. But civil defence preparations, which the Government have strengthened considerably over the past five years, could save millions of lives and greatly reduce injury and suffering. Civil defence is a basic humanitarian duty of any Government and any local authority.