§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information was available to him on the accident on 15 September 1980 in North Dakota involving a B52 bomber prior to agreeing to the stationing of these aeroplanes in the United Kingdom; what safeguards have been taken by the USAF to ensure no repetition of this accident in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonI understand that this accident involved a B52 aircraft on strategic alert, carrying nuclear missiles. There is no agreement permanently to station United States Air Force B52 aircraft in the United Kingdom, and when such aircraft have deployed temporarily to the United Kingdom they have exercised or operated only in their conventional role. The circumstances of the North Dakota accident are therefore not relevant to the deployment of B52 aircraft to the United Kingdom.