The Government are strongly committed to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), which is the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. The UK is determined to make every effort to ensure that this review cycle results in a positive and substantive final document. We look forward to working with states parties, including allies and EU partners, before and during the May 2007 NPT Preparatory Committee where the groundwork for this can be laid. The UK statement to the Preparatory Committee will be placed in the Library of the House once it has been made.
The UK delegation to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Preparatory Committee in Vienna in May will be headed by Ambassador John Duncan, the United Kingdom’s Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. He will be accompanied by officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Trade and Industry. No decision has yet been made on Ministerial attendance. I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him today (UIN 115555).
The foreign policy and diplomatic considerations relevant to the decision to maintain our deterrent are detailed in the December 2006 White Paper “The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Weapons”. A copy of this document has been placed in the Library of the House.
The Government are strongly committed to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), which is the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. The UK is determined to make every effort to ensure that this review cycle results in a positive and substantive final document. We will work with allies and EU partners at the May 2007 NPT Preparatory Committee to lay the groundwork for this. We have already made a contribution by announcing, in the White Paper on the Future of the UK's Nuclear Deterrent, a further 20 per cent. cut in our warhead stockpile.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Ministry of Defence jointly produced the White Paper on the Future of the UK's Nuclear Deterrent. FCO officials were closely involved in all the preparatory analysis, including the realistic life of the Vanguard class ballistic missile submarines and the time required to develop replacements. The outcome of these discussions was that if we were to maintain unbroken deterrent capability, decisions needed to be taken now on whether to replace those submarines.