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Global Security (Non-Proliferation)

I turn to some of the contributions from hon. Members; I want to do them justice. I realise that I have probably had more time than my Front-Bench colleagues, but I hope that they understand that I have a lot of ground to cover. My hon. Friend the Member for Ilford, South commented on the United States-India nuclear deal. It is undoubtedly controversial, and there is no consensus in the international community's response. We have seriously considered the pros and cons, and have concluded that the international non-proliferation regime will be strengthened by moving India closer to the mainstream. India subsequently concluded an additional protocol with the IAEA. There was concern that, although that was part of the deal, India would not honour it, but it has done so. On balance, we believe that bringing India closer to the mainstream is in the overall interests of our shared objectives; there is no evidence that it has had a negative effect. The 2009 NPT preparatory committee, for example, is the first for 15 years to agree an agenda for the review conference. On balance, we still believe that it was right to support that agreement. It is clear from the points made by the right hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling that he is one the most well informed Members in the House on these important issues. He is aware that the United Kingdom does not possess any so-called tactical or sub-strategic nuclear weapons. Only nuclear weapons can provide a deterrent against a nuclear threat, so they are on a different scale from any other form of deterrence. Their use could only be deemed "game changing" or strategic. In relation to the right hon. Gentleman's comments about the intermediate-range nuclear forces treaty and Russia's proposal to multilateralise, in principle we would have no difficulties with that proposal. Of course, we would have to consider any further details emanating from Russia, but it needs to be clear that for that to be successful, considerable buy-in would be necessary from the international community. The right hon. Gentleman and other hon. Members referred to NATO. It is right at this juncture to have a serious debate on NATO's nuclear weapons based in Europe, and that tallies with our ultimate aspirations, but we must be honest and say that we do not expect any unilateral decisions to be taken. Any decision must be taken following consultation with our NATO allies. Not all member states agree with Germany that getting rid of NATO's nuclear forces would be a good thing at this time. That, of course, is particularly the case in countries that feel under threat. Although we agree that NATO should be having this debate now, it is important that we handle things sensitively. The right hon. Gentleman also raised the question of biological and chemical weapons, and I shall briefly address that point. Biological and toxin weapons convention verification is a top priority for us, but there is no clear movement at this stage from the United States Administration. We accept that they are focused on the START talks and the nuclear posture review, but we continue to press them on the convention. We have not yet had any indication from the new Administration about whether they intend to rescind the presidential veto over challenge inspections, and that is a little more depressing. However, in our bilateral discussions we continue to urge them to do so.