Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what NATO's policy is on the first use of nuclear weapons by that organisation.

NATO states that the circumstances in which it might have to use nuclear weapons are extremely remote but does not publicly define those circumstances. The fundamental purpose of NATO's nuclear capability is to preserve peace, prevent coercion and deter aggression. Should the fundamental security of any NATO Ally be threatened, NATO has the capabilities and the resolve to impose costs on the adversary that would be unacceptable and far outweigh the benefits that any adversary could hope to achieve.