§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have studied Baroness Thatcher's speech at Fulton and whether they agree that threats of missile attack on this country are now so plausible that it would be right to pass control over British defences to the President of the US and to the automatic equipment etc., to which he might choose to delegate his war-making decisions for purposes of "boost-phase intercept" of incoming missiles.
Earl HoweWe have studied my noble friend's speech at Fulton and we share her concern about the emerging risks posed by ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction. As the noble Lord is aware, we are considering how we should respond to these risks, including whether we should acquire a ballistic missile defence capability.