§ 68. Mr. HaywardTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will assess the consequences for the security of the United Kingdom of the adoption of nuclear-free zones in Western Europe.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThis Government are against the adoption of nuclear free zones in Western Europe, where we believe they would not increase but reduce security and stability. The territory of a zone would still be under threat from weapons outside the zone but targeted on it. Moreover, the mobility of many ground-launched and air-delivered nuclear weapons means that they could be rapidly deployed back into a nuclear-free zone at a time of tension, thus heightening rather than reducing the risk of war.