§ Mr. FitzpatrickTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment the Government have made of the conditions under which the Trident system could fulfil a substrategic role through(a) deterrence and (b) use. [77937]
§ Mr. George RobertsonThe purpose of our nuclear forces is to deter aggression against the United Kingdom or its Allies. The Strategic Defence Review confirmed that, in addition to its strategic deterrent role, Trident would also perform the sub-strategic nuclear role, formerly assigned to RAF Tornado aircraft. A sub-strategic element is an essential component of a nuclear deterrent policy. In extreme circumstances of self defence, a capability for the more limited use of nuclear weapons would allow us to signal to an aggressor that he has miscalculated our resolve, without using the full destructive power that Trident offers.