§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Prime Minister what discussions took place at the recent North Atlantic Treaty Organisation summit in Brussels regarding a comprehensive test ban treaty; what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards negotiations with the Soviet Union on this subject; and if she will make a statement.
§ The Prime MinisterNo discussions about a comprehensive test ban treaty took place at the recent NATO summit.
We welcome the bilateral negotiations between the United States and Soviet Union in Geneva aimed at the ratification of the peaceful nuclear explosions treaty and threshold test ban treaty, and hope that these two treaties will be ratified soon. Further steps to limit tests will then have to be considered. For the foreseeable future the United Kingdom's security will depend on deterrence based, in part, on the possession of nuclear weapons. That will mean a continuing requirement to conduct underground nuclear tests to ensure that our nuclear weapons remain effective and up to date.