HC Deb 26 June 1984 vol 62 cc419-20W
25. Mr. Janner

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received regarding the presence of nuclear weapons in the east midlands.

Mr. Stanley

My right hon. Friend has received an inquiry from Leicester city council.

Mr. Deakins

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether there are circumstances in which the use of nuclear weapons by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is expected to kill or injure non-combatants; and what consideration has been given to the rules of international law in this matter.

Mr. Stanley

As reiterated at the Bonn summit in June 1982 and in the NATO declaration at Brussels on 9 December 1983, none of NATO's weapons will ever be used except in response to attack. In any armed conflict, which NATO trusts will never occur, the use of any weapon would have to be judged as lawful or not in the light of circumstances prevailing at the time.