Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the compatibility of replacing trident with the Government’s policy on nuclear non-proliferation.

We remain committed to creating the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons, and fulfilling our obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which remains the cornerstone of the global non-proliferation regime. But we must continue to maintain a credible nuclear deterrent for as long as the global situation demands. Given the current threat to international security, and the reality that this will continue for the foreseeable future our independent nuclear deterrent remains as vital today as it ever has.