§ 39. Mr. Chapmanasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is his latest assessment of the numbers and categories of nuclear weapons between east and west.
§ Mr. StanleyInformation on the numbers and categories and nuclear weapon systems and the balance of nuclear forces between East and West is contained in figures 12 and 13 of annex A of volume I of the Statement on the Defence Estimates 1985.
§ 44. Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will now take steps to seek to change North Atlantic Treaty Organisation plans to deploy new nuclear weapons systems and seek instead a mutual verifiable cessation of research, development and deployment of all nuclear weapons systems with the Warsaw pact countries.
§ Mr. StanleyNo. Our objective is to secure reductions in nuclear weapons through the negotiation of balanced, effective and verifiable disarmament agreements rather than to freeze existing imbalances which include substantial superiority for the Soviet Union in certain categories of nuclear weapons.