Shadow Cabinet agrees to support test ban

Britain should support a comprehensive nuclear test ban to coincide with early negotiations to make the current Non-Proliferation Treaty permanent, the Shadow Cabinet agreed last night.

No further testing was needed for the Trident programme and any further work could be adequately conducted under laboratory conditions. Members said the break-up of the Soviet Union and the signing of the Start 1 and 2 agreements meant the time was right for the ban.