§ Mr. LivingstoneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 26 January,Official Report, column 306, what was the conclusion of the discussions on the 1980s United States plans to update their offensive chemical capability; and what were the factors behind reaching this conclusion.
§ Mr. HanleyThroughout the discussions in question, the United Kingdom placed the highest priority on the negotiation of a verifiable and comprehensive worldwide ban on chemical weapons. However, faced with the Soviet Union's formidable offensive capability in chemical warfare and its persistent refusal to accept adequate verification measures to permit such a ban, the United Kingdom supported the USA's moves to modernise its limited retaliatory chemical capability. This modernisation was adopted by NATO as a force goal but was subsequently cancelled by the United States in 1991. As was stated at the time, this underlined to the Soviet Union the benefits of an early agreement on a negotiated ban.
This ban is now in sight in the form of the chemical weapons convention which opened for signature in January 1993.