Paul Flynn – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what conditions the Government considers need to be met for the UK to divest itself of nuclear weapons through international negotiations.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK has a strong record on nuclear disarmament. As The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Mr Fallon) set out in his Written Ministerial Statement of 20 January 2015 (Official Report, column 4WS) the Government has met its commitment to implement the changes announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010 to reduce the number of operationally available warheads from fewer than 160 to no more than 120.

As set out in the recent 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review, we consider that our nuclear deterrent is the ultimate means to deter the most extreme threats. The UK will retain a credible, continuous and effective minimum nuclear deterrent for as long as the global security situation makes it necessary.