§ 23. Mr. David EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the change in the level of the threat to the United Kingdom posed by nuclear weapons in the former Soviet republics since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
§ Mr. Tom KingThe threat of nuclear confrontation in Europe has greatly reduced: but it will take many years to reduce the huge nuclear arsenal of the former Soviet Union, and the Commonwealth of Independent States faces an uncertain future and there are risks of nuclear proliferation elsewhere. The Government will therefore maintain an effective, minimum deterrent.