Trident Alternatives Review

Debate between Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston and Danny Alexander

Wednesday 17th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Danny Alexander]

I will come to that, but I do not accept the point; that may be an accurate description of pregnancy, but not of deterrent postures.

[Ms Gisela Stuart (Birmingham, Edgbaston) (Lab)]

I want to come back to the right hon. Gentleman’s analysis of the threat. Does he agree with President Obama who said in Prague that

“the threat of global nuclear war has gone down, but the risk of a nuclear attack has gone up”?

[Danny Alexander]

I agree with many of the things President Obama has said, including in his recent Berlin speech. I would point the hon. Lady, however, to the Government’s own threat assessment in the strategic security and defence review, which says that state-on-state nuclear attacks are a tier 2 threat. I will come to the threat analysis in a moment.