The Government’s policy on when the United Kingdom might employ its nuclear deterrent, and the resources needed to sustain that capability, were debated in the House of Lords on 5 June, according to Hansard.
Lord Trefgarne, Conservative, sought categorical assurance that “our nuclear weapons will be used only when our supreme national interest so requires, and in no other circumstance.”
Defence Minister Lord Coaker replied that the deterrent would be contemplated “in the most extreme of circumstances,” stressing a principle he has “said many times at the Dispatch Box”—that the purpose of the deterrent is to prevent conflict: “It is that whole concept that sometimes seems contradictory: that by preparing for war, you prevent war. The strategic nuclear deterrent is the most significant example of that.”
Labour peer Lord West of Spithead said Britain’s nuclear enterprise has “always been at the very limits of our technological, industrial, scientific and cost profiles.” Recalling the slow pace of early warhead projects such as Blue Danube and the subsequent Beard series, he warned that current pressures from the civil-nuclear sector compound the challenge.
“We have to have a really national endeavour among all departments to pull together so that we can get the training of scientists and everyone focusing on this particular issue, because otherwise we will find it very hard to deliver—certainly within the cost parameters, but very hard to deliver anyway.”
Lord West added that a prime-ministerial review he conducted while in government had confirmed the independence of the deterrent—“I was allowed access to all sorts of things, and the answer is that it is independent”—though over the next two or three decades “that becomes more difficult, because of maintenance of missiles, for example.”
Lord Coaker agreed that sustaining the arsenal must be “a national endeavour,” acknowledging that “the need for us to upskill, to have more apprentices and to have more of the systems available to us in order for us to be able to deliver the defence programmes and projects that we want is a challenge.”
He concluded, “Let me be clear that we will make sure that we have all the necessary skills and capabilities required to maintain our nuclear deterrent.”
This fantastic deterrent capability continues to put the UK at the cutting edge of global power, the skills and technical brilliance are second to none and a credit to the determination and professionalism shown by all involved.
Shame the missiles keep plopping back in the salty stuff.
I wish there was a like button here to click.
We have a nuclear deterrent and a conventional deterrent. I am not sure most people have the foggiest idea what deterrent means. Our CAST nuclear deterrent has been 100% successful demonstated by all the wars we haven’t had. The conventional deterrent needs a little re-inforcement with a substantial increase in kit to demonstate that we can easily defeat any force which might threaten us. We also need our allies to understand that Russia cannot be allowed to enlarge itself to become the sort of threat it was during the cold war.