Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Hannay of Chiswick (Crossbench). It was answered by Lord Triesman (Labour) on Tuesday, 11 October 2005.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

Question: How they intend to pursue their policies against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, in the light of the lack of progress at the recent United Nations summit on that issue.

Answer: My Lords, the summit delivered worthwhile reforms and commitments, many inspired by the vision of the high level panel, of which the noble Lord was a member. The United Kingdom worked extensively for proactive language on non-proliferation that would spur international efforts to strengthen the regime. We were therefore disappointed that this did not prove possible. Despite this, almost all states continue actively to support the various non-proliferation instruments. The United Kingdom places a high priority on non-proliferation and will continue to seek practical solutions to non-proliferation challenges in all relevant international fora.

Secondary information