§ 43. Mr. Tony Lloydasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will consider moving to an explicit policy of no first use of nuclear weapons in the light of current arms control negotiations.
§ Mr. Ian StewartNo. It is long established NATO policy, to which we are fully committed, that no NATO weapons, either conventional or nuclear, would ever be used except in response to attack. That is a more fundamental commitment than renunciation of the option of first use of nuclear weapons. As has been only recently reaffirmed, nuclear weapons remain an essential component of NATO's policies of deterrence and flexible response. The current arms control negotiations do not alter our commitment to these important principles which will continue to remain valid for the foreseeable future.