§ Mr. Matthew Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on an incident when Royal Air Force firemen were refused access to an American nuclear weapons storage area, after a fire alert at RAF St. Mawgan; whether local people or Royal Air Force firemen were in any danger from any radiation leak at that time; why those Royal Air Force firemen were not given access to detailed information regarding the nuclear make up of that base; and whether today the Royal Air Force has detailed knowledge of the nuclear weapons currently stored at the United States bases in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. FreemanFor security reasons, I am not prepared to comment on locations where nuclear weapons may be stored. There is, however, good liaison between the United States and the United Kingdom on nuclear accident response issues. There has never been an accident involved nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom resulting in the release of radioactive material to the environment, and there has therefore never been any hazard either to the public or to service personnel.