§ Mr. Strangasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether current North Atlantic Treaty Organisation plans involve attacks against Soviet submarines north of the Greenland-Iceland-Norway gap in the early stages of a future war; and whether any such plans detail the use of Royal Navy forces for the task of attacking Soviet submarines.
§ Mr. Ian StewartThe wartime tasks of the Royal Navy in support of NATO are described in paragraph 404 of the "Statement on the Defence Estimates 1987". In accordance with the practice of successive Governments, I am not generally prepared to disclose details of operational plans.