§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence on which dates the nuclear weapon exercise Dimming Sun will be held; which Government departments and organisations will be taking part in this exercise; whether the media will be invited to the exercise; and what will be the scenario of the exercise. [80826]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonIt is planned to held Exercise DIMMING SUN between 14 to 18 June 1999. It is a joint UK/US nuclear weapon accident exercise, which will test the procedures in place for responding to the logistic movement of US nuclear weapons. Local authorities and emergency services in Norfolk will be participating in this exercise alongside response forces from the Ministry of Defence, the US Government, and other relevant UK Government Departments and organisations. It is also planned that a media briefing will be held to announce details before the exercise.