Parliament And Decisions On Us National Missile Defence

EDM number 2149 in 2006-07, proposed by Dai Davies on 17/10/2007.

That this House recalls that the former Prime Minister told this House in reply to the right hon. Member for North East Fife, who had asked about the possible deployment of part of an anti-ballistic missile system for the United States in the United Kingdom, `I am sure that we will have the discussion in the House... When we have a proposition to put, we will come back and put it' (28th February 2007, Official Report, column 920); notes that rather than presenting a propostion on National Missile Defense to Parliament, the Secretary of State for Defence chose instead to make a written statement to this House just one day before the summer recess stating, inter alia, that `at RAF Menwith Hill, equipment will be installed and operated by the US Administration to allow receipt of satellite warnings of potentially hostile missile launches' (25th July 2007, Official Report, columns 71-2WS); believes that whatever the merits of such missile defence systems, making a written statement in this way does not reflect the spirit of what the former Prime Minister indicated would be the accountability process for this project; and calls upon the Government to arrange in Government time a full debate to allow hon. Members to scrutinise in public the US National Missile Defense deployment plans in the United Kingdom.

This motion has been signed by a total of 23 MPs.