Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Danny Alexander (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Monday, 13 July 2009 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Trident

Question: I am grateful to the Secretary of State for that answer. However, given that a number of people, including retired military officers, former Defence Secretaries and academics, are now saying that Trident is both irrelevant and unaffordable, will the Secretary of State defer the initial gate process and the hundreds of millions of pounds that it would commit us to spending until a further, full debate in this place that takes into account the new financial and strategic circumstances?

Answer: Initial gate does not entail the commitments that the hon. Gentleman talks about, and the answer is no.

Secondary information