Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of governments that are, or are almost, able to mobilise new weapons systems capable of operating without meaningful human control; how soon they expect the UK will be able to deploy such systems; and what steps they are taking to secure international controls of such systems.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
UK policy is that the operation of weapon systems will always be under human control as an absolute guarantee of oversight and authority for weapons release - no UK weapons systems currently in development will be capable of attacking targets without human control and input. Officials from Her Majesty's Government are closely involved in international discussions on autonomy at the United Nations to ensure that developments occur responsibly and in line with international law.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Commanding Officers of nuclear submarines have access to a military lawyer about the law of armed conflict.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
All Service personnel, including Commanding Officers of ballistic missile submarines, receive training on the law of armed conflict (LOAC), including during initial basic training phases, staff courses and promotion courses. Personnel are also required to undertake annual LOAC training to agreed standards.
Her Majesty's Government, which receives legal advice, is clear that the use of nuclear weapons - like all weapons - would be subject to the requirements of the LOAC. Only the Prime Minister can authorise the firing of nuclear weapons and the Commanding Officer of the ballistic missile submarine must confirm that the authorisation to fire meets the rigorous authentication processes in place.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what distinction, if any, they draw between deterrence and preparedness to fight a nuclear war in (1) determining the UK’s nuclear weapons capability, and (2) assessing the nuclear weapons capability of other states; and whether the UK nuclear weapons strategy is based on deterrence or on preparedness to fight a nuclear war.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Nuclear war means deterrence has failed. The primary role of the Armed Forces is to deter: our nuclear deterrent sits at the apex of UK deterrence strategy, delivered through Continuous at Sea Deterrence which provides an invulnerable second-strike capability. We will continue to keep our nuclear posture under constant review in light of the international security environment and the actions of potential adversaries.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the new Russian nuclear weapons announced in the speech by President Putin to the Russian Federal Assembly on 1 March; and to what degree their introduction alters the strategic military balance in Europe.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
We regret that the Kremlin's focus is not working for strategic stability, but this announcement demonstrates why the UK cannot relax its guard. We remain completely confident in our minimum, credible, independent nuclear deterrent. We will continue to keep our nuclear posture under review in the light of the international security environment and the actions of all potential adversaries.