Integrated Review - Statement

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 7:26 pm on 17 March 2021.

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Photo of Lord West of Spithead Lord West of Spithead Labour 7:26, 17 March 2021

My Lords, CASD ensures our nation’s security and deters aggression, every hour of every day, and I am pleased that we will reverse the coalition Government’s decision and will no longer disclose deployed warhead and missile numbers. The 45% increase in operational stockpiles is more problematic, and I would love to know what has made that necessary. More worrying still, it would seem that we intend to use Trident as a war-fighting weapon, yet until recently the use of nuclear weapons for war-fighting, as distinct from deterrence and retaliation, was considered deranged. Why are we doing it?