Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the article in Pécs Journal of International and European Law entitled UK Nuclear Deterrence Policy and International Law: Terrorism with Impunity, published on 15 December 2021; and if he will make a statement.

That article raises questions about domestic and international terrorism laws. Ministry of Defence officials have reviewed it and strongly disagree with its analysis. I can assure the House the UK’s nuclear deterrent is fully compliant and compatible with both our domestic and international legal obligations.

The Government considers that offences created by the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Terrorism Act 2006 are not engaged by the UK’s nuclear deterrence policy and rejects the assertion in the article that “most, perhaps all, military action is an offence” under terrorism legislation.

As stated in the UK Integrated Review 2021, the UK would consider using its nuclear weapons only in extreme circumstances of self-defence, including the defence of its NATO Allies. The legality of any such use would depend upon the circumstances and the application of the general rules of international law, including those regulating the use of force and the conduct of hostilities.