HL Deb 28 November 1984 vol 457 c999WA
Lord Jenkins of Putney

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What consideration the UN Committee on Disarmament has given to possible chemical weapon use by terrorist groups, and the problem of preventing proliferation of chemical weapons to them.

Baroness Young

In March 1983 and in July 1984 we tabled at the Conference on Disarmament important proposals to verify the non-diversion of substances made by the civil chemical industry which could be misused to make chemical weapons. We believe these comprehensive proposals, and further proposals we are considering tabling at the conference early in 1985, when linked to agreements on other aspects of the verification of a total chemical weapons ban, would ensure compliance with it. They would thus eliminate all illicit use by governments of chemical weapons, and significantly increase the difficulty for terrorist groups in obtaining the materials necessary for the manufacture of such weapons.