§ Lord Jenkins of Putneyasked Her Majesty's Government:
In what sense Trident is a "minimum deterrent"; who it is deterring and whether it would be a minimum deterrent if acquired by a non-nuclear country.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Henley)Trident will enable the United Kingdom to deploy, well into the next century, the minimum nuclear capability judged necessary to deter aggression against us. Our nuclear forces operate within, and contribute to, a stable deterrence environment. We believe that the proliferation of nuclear weapons elsewhere would be dangerously destabilising.
§ Lord Jenkins of Putneyasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many submarines the proposed Trident fleet will consist; how many warheads it will be capable of carrying; and what would be the estimated number of people killed if each warhead achieved a death rate equivalent to that of the one bomb dropped on 110WA Hiroshima, which is now estimated as being responsible for the death of 200,000 people.
§ Lord HenleyThe Trident fleet will consist of four VANGUARD class submarines. While each submarine is technically capable of carrying a maximum of 192 warheads, they will deploy with no more than 96, and may carry significantly fewer. Trident will provide a continuing deterrent to aggression against the United Kingdom and a significant contribution to NATO's strategy of war prevention.