§ Lord Jenkins of Putneyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will propose that NATO should publish the document MC 400 agreed in December and the threat assessment document MC 161.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Viscount Cranborne)NATO's Strategic Concept, which was agreed by NATO Heads of State and Government at the Rome summit, was published for the first time last November in the new spirit of openness and co-operation with our former adversaries. Nevertheless, the Alliance remains a security and defence organisation and, as such, some details of its work, particularly military planning, must remain classified. MC 400 and MC 161 fall into this category and we will not, therefore, be seeking their publication.