§ Lord Molloyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their attitude to the creation and deployment of a new generation of nuclear, chemical and SDI-related weapons by the United States of America in the United Kingdom.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Young)We are committed to maintaining the effectiveness of the nuclear deterrent including modernisation where necessary. US moves to modernise its limited retaliatory capability should bring home to the Soviet Union the advantages of a global ban on all chemical weapons. The US have said they will not deploy their new weapons in peacetime; any deployment to the UK would, of course, require the consent of Her Majesty's Government. As far as concerns SDI-related weapons, we are not aware of any new decisions on deployment in the US or anywhere else. Our policy on this and other aspects of the SDI research programme is well known to the House.