§ Lord Jenkins of Putneyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Answer given by the Earl of Arran on 24th July (HL Deb., col. 1442) indicated that he was unaware of the US discovery of defective nuclear artillery shells deployed in Europe which could have exploded accidentally and have since been repaired, or that he is satisfied that the repairs have removed the danger.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (The Earl of Arran): The matter of repairs to US nuclear weapons is one for the US Government. As I said in my previous reply, I am satisfied with US Government assurances about the safety of US nuclear weapons.
§ Lord Jenkins of Putneyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any of the defective US nuclear artillery shells now repaired were and are located in the United Kingdom.
§ The Earl of Arran: It has been the long-standing practice of successive governments neither to confirm nor deny the locations of specific nuclear weapons.
§ Lord Jenkins of Putneyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the defective US nuclear artillery shells now repaired in Europe were each more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb; and whether the repairs carried out mean that they can now be moved.
§ The Earl of Arran: This is a matter for the US Government.