§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the United States nuclear missiles, for which bunkers are now being constructed in the United Kingdom, will be as their predecessor missiles were not, under the physical "dual-key" control of Her Majesty's Government, to the extent that the missiles cannot be activated without the participation of one or more British officers in immediate contact with the Prime Minister; and, if a physical dual-key system is not being insisted on, why not; and
Whether the United States missiles for which new bunkers are being constructed are tactical air-to-surface missiles, and if so whether their deployment in the United Kingdom is in keeping with the letter and the spirit of all relevant arms control agreements; and
Whether the Soviet Union has been informed of the proposed deployment of new United States nuclear missiles in the United Kingdom, and if they 44WA have expressed any intention of investigating whether the missiles are fully compliant with existing arms control agreements; and
Whether the new United States nuclear missiles to be deployed in the United Kingdom are to be declared to NATO or are to be a United States, unilaterally-determined, deployment; and
Whether they have discussed with European NATO allies the deployment of new United States missiles in the United Kingdom; if so, what views have the allies expressed; and if not, why not.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (The Earl of Arran)The decision to install new weapons storage vaults, offering improved security and survivability, is unconnected with any possible deployment of new United States missiles to the United Kingdom. Though the NATO Alliance has reaffirmed the need for nuclear weapons to be kept up to date, we have received no proposals from the United States for the deployment to the United Kingdom of a new nuclear missile.