§ Lord Jenkins of Putneyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the special nuclear materials (SNM) flights from RAF Brize Norton to the United States are continuing, and whether SNM flights which have taken place have carried plutonium or highly-enriched uranium; and, if so, whether this has presented any danger or been in breach of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
§ Lord GilbertThe Ministry of Defence continues to use RAF flights to transport special nuclear material to the United States under the provisions of the 1958 UK/US agreement for co-operation on the uses of atomic energy for mutual defence purposes. The term, special nuclear material, encompasses materials such as plutonium tritium and highly-enriched uranium. These movements do not contravene the non-proliferation treaty. All such movements are carried out in accordance with stringent safety procedures. In the more than 40 years that the UK has been a nuclear power, there has never been a transportation accident in the UK that has posed any radiation hazard to the public.