§ Dr. ReidTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what responsibilities(a) United States diplomatic and military officials and (b) British officials would assume in the event of an accident or incident involving United States nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom;
(2) what regulations cover the procedures that would be adopted in the event of an accident or incident involving United States nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom in peacetime;
(3) which agency would assume primary responsibility under current emergency planning procedures in the event of an accident or incident involving United States nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. HanleyIn the highly unlikely event of an accident involving nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom, those United Kingdom regulations which are relevant to any radiological hazard to the public would be applied, irrespective of whether the weapon in question belonged to the United Kingdom or the United States.
The general responsibilities of British officials in the combined response to any major incident affecting public safety are described in the Home Office publication "Dealing with Disaster". For an accident involving nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom, the lead Government Department would be the MOD. The civil police would 328W co-ordinate the activities of all those responding at and around the scene. The same principles would apply in the event of an accident involving United States weapons.
Within this framework, the United States would supply specialised personnel and equipment to render safe any damaged United States nuclear weapon and to recover it and any components into United States custody, and would provide advice on any specific measures necessary to maintain public safety.