Lord Browne of Ladyton (Lab)

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for addressing this important Statement. I draw you Lordships’ House’s attention to my entries in the register of interests, particularly my role as vice-chair of the Nuclear Threat Initiative. Ministers routinely refuse to answer questions in Parliament about nuclear weapons, often citing the phrase “for obvious reasons”. On Monday in the Commons, my honourable friend John Grady MP asked whether the Prime Minister had had discussions with President Xi about nuclear weapons. In response, the Prime Minister informed the other place that he had discussed with President Xi how to “derisk the risk in relation to nuclear weapons”.—[Official Report, Commons, 2/2/26; col. 36.] In 2022, the United Kingdom, under a Conservative Government, together with the other P5 members, affirmed its intention “to maintain and further strengthen our national measures to prevent unauthorised or unintended use of nuclear weapons”. The same Government reaffirmed that in 2024 with no qualifications. Can my noble friend build on this hugely welcome precedent of transparency and persuade the Government to make time for a debate on this issue in Parliament? Given my impending retirement, this request is wholly altruistic, as I will not be able to participate, but I believe that it would be a welcome step forward for parliamentary accountability.