§ Mr. ChisholmTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what pressure was exerted by United Kingdom representatives at the United Nations on delegates of the non-aligned movement in order to dissuade them from supporting that movement's resolution of November on the legality of nuclear weapons.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryNone. We spoke to representatives of various countries about the proposed resolution and put to them our arguments against it.
§ Mr. GapesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs by what means his Department keeps under review the prospects for entering British strategic nuclear weapons into multilateral disarmament negotiations.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryThis is a matter primarily for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence. Our policy takes continually into account developments in the strategic environment, the effectiveness of measures designed to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the need to maintain force levels sufficient to provide a credible minimum deterrent.
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§ Mr. GapesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what is his Department's position on the adoption of a policy of no first use of nuclear weapons by the United Kingdom;
(2) what consideration his Department is giving to the implications for (a) the United Kingdom and (b) NATO of the declaration of a policy of no first use of nuclear weapons by the United States of America.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryAs my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence said in a speech on 16 November, we are deeply sceptical about the value of any such declaration, the implication of which would be that conventional aggression could be undertaken without fear of crossing the nuclear threshold.
§ Mr. GapesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his assessment of the prospects of the Government entering British strategic nuclear weapons into multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryWe see no immediate prospect of United Kingdom strategic nuclear weapons being entered into multilateral disarmament negotiations.