asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what is the purpose and significance of the amendments made to the United States-United Kingdom mutual defence agreement for co-operation on the safety of atomic energy as presented to Parliament in September 1984, Cmnd. 9336;(2) if he will explain why the amendment, Cmnd. 9336, to the United States-United Kingdom mutual defence agreement for co-operation on the uses of atomic energy was presented to Parliament in September 1984.

The amendment to the agreement for co-operation on the uses of atomic energy for mutual defence purposes extended the agreement, which was signed in 1958, from 1 January 1985 until 31 December 1994. It incorporated a number of changes which had become necessary since the last amendment, Cmnd. 7976. The amendment was presented to Parliament in accordance with normal practice.