Secret papers: UK studied chemical weapons buildup in 1980s

Source: AP-Excite

By GREGORY KATZ

LONDON (AP) — Newly released official papers show that former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's government considered rebuilding Britain's chemical weapons arsenal in the face of a Soviet threat in the early 1980s.

The formerly secret documents show that Thatcher's defense chiefs were worried that Britain had no response to a possible Soviet chemical attack except to retaliate with nuclear weapons.

At the time, the Ministry of Defense believed the Soviet Union had more than 300,000 tons of nerve agents along with other chemical weapons.

Britain by then had voluntarily given up its chemical weapons supplies, and the United States — a fellow NATO member and close ally — had aging supplies that amounted to only one-tenth of the Soviet arsenal.

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FILE - In this 1980 file photo, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher poses for a photograph in London. Newly released official papers show that former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher{2019}s government considered rebuilding Britain{2019}s chemical weapons arsenal in the face of a Soviet threat in the early 1980s. (AP Photo/Gerald Penny, File)


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