Written question asked by Gordon Prentice (Labour) on Monday, 27 March 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 29 March 2006. It was answered by Lord Reid of Cardowan (Labour) on Tuesday, 18 April 2006 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Nuclear Deterrent

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what publication he plans to produce to inform the national debate he initiated in 2005 on the potential replacement of the UK's nuclear deterrent.

Answer: The Ministry of Defence provided an initial memorandum to the House of Commons Defence Committee, which was published on 20 January 2006. While work to prepare for decisions on the future of the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent has now started, it is still at an early stage and Ministers have not yet begun to consider the position in any detail. It is therefore premature to speculate on the nature of any future publications in this area.

Secondary information