§ Mr. MacdonaldTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's policy towards making United Kingdom nuclear weapons available to forces operating under the auspices of the Western European Union; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe scale and nature of any United Kingdom contribution to forces operating under the auspices of the Western European Union would be for decision in the light of circumstances at the time.
§ Mr. MacdonaldTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what studies his Department is undertaking regarding the testing of United Kingdom nuclear weapons without the need for underground nuclear explosions.
§ Mr. AitkenIt has long been the practice to use a wide range of laboratory facilities and techniques to contribute to proving the designs of our nuclear weapons, but those techniques cannot wholly substitute for underground nuclear tests. We therefore have a continuing requirement to sustain a minimum underground test programme.