The British Response to SDI
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The British Response to SDI edited by Michael D. Kandiah and Gillian Staerck CCBH Oral History Programme The British Response to SDI CCBH Oral History Programme Programme Director: Dr Michael D. Kandiah © Centre for Contemporary British History, 2005 All rights reserved. This material is made available for use for personal research and study. We give per- mission for the entire files to be downloaded to your computer for such personal use only. For reproduction or further distribution of all or part of the file (except as constitutes fair dealing), permission must be sought from CCBH. Published by Centre for Contemporary British History Institute of Historical Research School of Advanced Study University of London Malet St London WC1E 7HU ISBN: 0 90516508 X ISBN-13: 978 0 90516508 0 The British Response to SDI Held in the Chancellor’s Hall, Senate House, University of London on 9 July 2003. Chaired by Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman, KCMG, CBE Paper by Holger Nehring Seminar edited by Michael D. Kandiah and Gillian Staerck Centre for Contemporary British History Contents Contributors 9 Citation Guidance 13 Chronology 15 The British Response to SDI: Introductory Paper 17 Holger Nehring The British Response to SDI: Seminar Transcript 25 edited by Michael D. Kandiah and Gillian Staerck Interview with The Hon. Sir Michael Pakenham, KBE, CMG 77 edited by Daniel Crewe and Michael D. Kandiah Interview with Professor A. David Caplin 93 edited by Daniel Crewe and Michael D. Kandiah Contributors Editors: MICHAEL D. KANDIAH Centre for Contemporary British History GILLIAN STAERCK Institute of Historical Research Chair: PROF. SIR LAWRENCE Professor of War Studies, King’s College, London since 1982. FREEDMAN, KCMG, CBE Professor Freedman was a Research Fellow at Nuffield College Oxford, 1974-75, a Research Associate of the International Institute of Strategic Studies (London), 1975-6, and a member of its Council (1984-1992 and 1993-2002). From 2001 he has served as Trustee of the Imperial War Museum. His publications include: US Intelligence and Soviet Strategic Threat (2nd ed., 1986); Britain and Nuclear Weapons (1980); The Evolution of Nuclear Strategy (1981); Kennedy’s Wars (2000); and: The Cold War (2001). Participants: PROF. A. DAVID CAPLIN David Caplin is a physicist at Imperial College London, and has worked on the electronic and magnetic properties of materials. In 1980 he was a founding member of Scientists Against Nuclear Arms (SANA), and subsequently Vice-Chair. At the time of SDI, he was one of the organisers of a scientists’ petition criticising the concept, and wrote, lectured and broadcast on the dangers it posed. In the last year or so, as the US Administration has expanded its National Missile Defense (NMD) programme, Professor Caplin has written a number of articles and position papers, particularly on the implications of UK government involvement, and a possible UK programme, as has been mooted by the Government. ROY DOMMETT, CBE Roy Dommett began work at Farnborough at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) in 1954. He worked in the Ballistic Missile Division: on Black Knight, Blue Streak, Polaris, Chevaline and Tri- dent. He is an expert on penetration aids and was involved in the British response to SDI, making presentations on potential Brit- ish contributions, and finally retired from Farnborough after 45 years of service as the Principal Consultant, Ballistic Missiles Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA). THE RT HON THE LORD Lord Heseltine was Conservative MP for Henley 1974-2001. He HESELTINE, CH, PC was the Opposition Spokesman on Transport (1969), Parlia- mentary Secretary at the Ministry of Transport (June-October 1970); was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department of Education (1970-72); and Minister for Aero- space and Shipping (1972-74). He also served as Secretary of State for the Environment (1972-83 and again 1990-92) and as Minister of State for Defence (1983-86). From 1992-95, he was the President of the Board of Trade, and from 1995 to 1997 he served as the First Secretary of State and Deputy Prime Minister. He has been the Chairman of Conservative Mainstream since 1998 and of the Anglo-China Forum since 1998. He published his mem- oirs under the title Life in the Jungle (2000). IAN KENYON Ian Kenyon has been Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the Mountbatten Centre since 1997 and is Joint Director of the Mountbatten Centre International Missile Forum. He served in the Diplomatic Service from 1974-95. He held various positions including First Secretary, UK Disarmament Delegation, Geneva, 1976-8; Assistant Head, 1982-3, and then Head of Nuclear Energy Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) 1983-5; Inspector with the Diplomatic Service Overseas Inspec- torate, 1986-87; Deputy Leader of the UK Disarmament Delegation, Geneva, 1988-92; Leader of the UK Delegation in New York for the UNDC, 1989-92; First Committee, UNGA44 and 46; and, the Partial Test Ban Treaty Amendment Confer- ence, 1991. In 1989 he represented the UK on the Chemical Weapons Ad-hoc Committee Working Group, and in 1993 took leave from the UK Diplomatic Service to serve as Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Organisation of the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague, 1993- 97. His publications include: Chemical Weapons in the Twentieth Century: Their Use and Their Control (2000) and ‘Dispute Resolu- tion in Multilateral Arms Control’ in Julie Dahlitz (ed.) Peaceful Resolution of Major International Disputes (1999). LORD POWELL Lord Powell served in the Diplomatic Service between 1963 and OF BAYSWATER, KCMG 1983, with postings in Helsinki, Washington, Bonn and Brussels (at the Permanent Representation to the European Commu- nity). He served as Special Counsellor in the Rhodesia negotiations (1979-80). From 1983 to 1991 he was the Private Secretary to the Prime Minister. He has been the President of the China-Britain Business Council since 1998. Since 1995 he has served as a Trustee of the Aspen Institute and since 2002 as a Trustee of the British Museum. DR FRANK PANTON Frank Panton, a scientist, had been in Government service between 1953-83. His posts included: Technical Adviser to the UK Delegation to the Conference on the Discontinuance of Nuclear Tests, Geneva, 1959-61; Defence Attaché, British Embassy, Washington DC, 1963-67; Assistant Chief Scientific Adviser (Nuclear), Ministry of Defence (MoD), 1969-75; Direc- tor, Propellants, Explosives and Rocket Motor Establishment (Waltham Abbey and Westcott) 1976-79; Director, Royal Army Research and Development Establishment, Fort Halstead, 1980-4. Post-retirement, Consultant to the Cabinet Secretary on Nuclear matters 1985-97; Consultant to MoD, as Independent Member of Nuclear Weapon and Nuclear Propulsion Safety Committees, 1984-99. SIR MICHAEL Sir Michael was the Director of the Ditchley Foundation from QUINLAN, GCB 1992 to 1999. In 1954, he served as the Assistant Principal at the Air Ministry. From 1956 to 1958 he was the Private Secretary to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Air. In 1958, he was Principal at the Air Ministry. From 1962 to 1965 he served as Private Secretary to the Chief of Air Staff, and, in 1968, as an Assistant Secretary at the Ministry of Defence. From 1970-3 he served as Defence Counsellor at the UK Delegation to NATO. He was then an Under-Secretary at the Constitution Unit of the Cabinet Office, 1974-77. From 1977-81 he served as the Deputy Under-Secretary of State (Policy) at the Ministry of Defence, and served as Deputy Secretary (Industry) at HM Treasury from 1981 to 1982. From 1983 to 1988 he served as Permanent Secre- tary at the Department of Employment, and from 1988-92 as Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence. Sir Michael was a Visiting Professor at King’s College, London, 1992-5 and again 2002-3, and a Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington, DC (2000). From 1992 to 2001 he served as a Trustee of the Science Museum. His pub- lications include: Thinking About Nuclear Weapons (1997) and European Defence Co-operation (2001). SIR JOHN WESTON, KCMG Sir John joined HM Diplomatic Service in 1962. He served in the Office of the UK Permanent Representative to the EEC from 1972 to 1974 and was then Assistant Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. From 1977-78 he was a Visiting Fellow at All Souls, Oxford. From 1978 to 1981 he served as Counsellor in Washington. He was Head of the Defence Department of the Foreign and Com- monwealth Office 1981-4 and Assistant Under-Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office 1984-5. From 1985-8 he was Minister in Paris. From 1988-9 he was Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet Office before serving as Political Director of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1990 to 1991. From 1992-95 he served as Ambassador and UK Permanent Repre- sentative to the North Atlantic Council and UK Permanent Representative to the Permanent Council of the WEU from 1992 to 1995. From 1995 to 1998 he was UK Permanent Repre- sentative to the United Nations. Academic experts: PROF. KATHLEEN BURK University College, London DR JEREMY STOCKER Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) From the floor: PROF. BHUPENDRA JASANI Department of War Studies, King’s College London DR CHRIS PHILIPIDES University of Bath DR STEPHEN TWIGGE The National Archive of the UK DR SUSAN WILSMORE University of Hertfordshire Citation Guidance References to this and other witness seminars should take the following form: Witness name, in ‘Witness Seminar Title’, seminar held [date of seminar], (Centre for Contemporary British History, [date of publication], [full internet address of seminar]), page number of reference [use the number given in the header at the top of the page referenced].