HC Deb 17 October 1991 vol 196 cc203-4W
Mr. Cryer

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response Her Majesty's Government made to the proposals put forward in September by the Government of the Soviet Union and Presidents of the Russian Federation and Kazakh republic that all nuclear testing should be halted and a verifiable nuclear test ban agreed at an early date.

Mr. Douglas Hogg

None. While there remains a need for a nuclear deterrent the UK will continue to carry out underground nuclear tests from time to time to ensure the effectiveness and safety of the deterrent. A comprehensive test ban is therefore a long-term goal.