§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Prime Minister (1) whether any nuclear weapons sited in Britain may be used for defensive purposes without the consent of Her Majesty's Government;
(2) whether nuclear weapons sited in West Germany can be used for defensive purposes without the consent of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
§ The Prime MinisterAt the North Atlantic Council meeting at Athens in 1962, both the United Kingdom and the United States specifically committed themselves to consult their allies, time and circumstances permitting, before releasing their nuclear weapons for use. The Council also adopted guidelines on the degree to which political consultation on such use might be possible. Subsequently the nuclear planning group, meeting in The Hague in 1968, agreed that special weight should be given to the views of the NATO countries most directly affected. It would not be in the public interest to reveal the precise details of the arrangements.
160WThe separate arrangements for joint decision over the use of United States bases in the United Kingdom were set out in the reply of my right hon. Friend the Member for Tonbridge and Mailing (Sir J. Stanley) to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, East (Mr. Strang) on 24 February 1987, at column 222.
§ The Prime MinisterThe possibility of first use of nuclear weapons in response to a conventional attack is central to NATO's strategy of deterrence to which I fully subscribe.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Prime Minister what are Her Majesty's Government's policies on the use of available nuclear weapons in the event of a Soviet breakthrough to the Channel ports using conventional weapons.
§ The Prime MinisterIt would undermine our strategy of deterrence to spell out in advance the precise way in which nuclear weapons would or might be used in any given circumstance.