Trident

(asked on 14th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria they use to assess the effectiveness of the UK's nuclear deterrent; and what assessment, if any, they have made of its efficacy in preventing the government of China from breaching the terms of Joint Sino-British declaration.


Answered by
Baroness Goldie Portrait
Baroness Goldie
This question was answered on 21st December 2020

The fact there has been no major conflict between Nuclear Weapons States, and that the United Kingdom has never needed to launch armed nuclear weapons, demonstrates the effectiveness of our nuclear deterrent.

The nuclear deterrent exists to deter the most extreme threats to our national security and way of life, which cannot be deterred by other means. It is not intended to deter or respond to all possible threats or situations.

For details on the Government's actions in response to the situation in Hong Kong, I refer the noble Lord to the reply given by the Minister of State, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, to Lord Alton of Liverpool in response to Question HL10654.

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