§ 19. Mr. Roger KingTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to control the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
§ Mr. HurdI refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Gosport (Mr. Viggers) on 24 April at column 1072.
§ 20. Mr. David EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to clarify the Soviet disarmament figures.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggWe and our NATO partners are continuing to press the Soviet Union to ensure the full and early implementation of the CFE treaty.
§ 30. Mr. SumbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress is being made in controlling the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggWe are working to strengthen existing regimes of restriction and control. We have already reinforced and widened the scope of our export controls on chemical weapons precursors. We are considering urgently how to improve the regimes to prevent the export of technology and materials for biological weapons.
We shall also be working:
- for further accessions to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty
- to strengthen the international safeguards administered by the International Atomic Energy Agency
- to harmonise and improve existing export controls through the Zangger committee, nuclear suppliers group and Australia group
- to secure a commitment to the early negotiation of a chemical weapons convention and the strengthening of the biological weapons convention at its review conference in September
- and to strengthen the missile technology control regime.