Margaret Ritchie – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Margaret Ritchie on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the effect of the Trident missile renewal programme on international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

Michael Fallon

As set out in the 2006 White Paper "The Future of the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Deterrent" (Cm 6994) the UK will participate in the US life extension programme for the Trident D5 missile which will extend the life of the missiles until the early 2040s. As a responsible nuclear weapons state and party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), we are committed to trying to achieve a world without nuclear weapons and we recognise our obligations under the NPT. I am entirely satisfied that this life extension programme is fully consistent with our NPT obligations.