Nuclear Weapons (Hansard, 11 June 1997)

§ Mr. Menzies Campbell
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what initiatives his Department will undertake to further the prospects of achieving the global elimination of nuclear weapons. [2715]

§ Dr. John Reid
We have already made clear our commitment to the goal of the global elimination of nuclear weapons and to press for multilateral negotiations towards mutual, balanced and verifiable reductions in nuclear weapons. We will be examining how best to implement that commitment, particular in the context of the Strategic Defence Review.

§ Mr. Campbell
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is his Department's assessment of the total number of deployed nuclear warheads that represents a minimum deterrent for the United Kingdom; [2719]
(2) when he intends to implement Her Majesty's Government's policy not to deploy more warheads on Trident than were deployed on Polaris. [2721]

§ Mr. Reid
The Government has already made plain its commitment to the retention of Trident. Our deterrence requirements, including warhead numbers, will however be examined as part of the Strategic Defence Review.

§ Mr. Campbell
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Trident D5 missiles his Department intends to purchase from the United States. [2720]

§ Mr. Spellar
The present planning assumption is that the UK will purchase 65 Trident missiles. This requirement will be tested during the Strategic Defence Review before final decisions are made.

§ Mr. Campbell
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his Department's latest estimate of the unit cost of purchasing Trident D5 missiles from the United States in the present financial year. [2718]

§ Mr. Spellar
If it is decided to proceed in accordance with present planning assumptions, my department will be placing further orders for Trident D5 missiles during the current UK financial year. The unit cost of the missiles will be a matter for negotiation between the manufacturers 487W and the US Department of Defence, which order on their own behalf and on ours in identical terms. The US DOD estimate a cost of %21 million per missile in respect of recent orders. The figure excludes guidance equipment, re-entry bodies and spares.