In March 2007 a group of historians working on British nuclear and defence policy met at the British Academy alongside some of the former officials and ministers involved in the original decision-making processes, to reflect upon the handling of British nuclear defence policy in the post-war period. In front of them was a set of declassified government records from the National Archives, detailing the story of the British nuclear deterrent and how ministers came to their decisions. In this article, Catherine Haddon draws upon edited extracts from the contributions of various participants in that discussion.
Published in British Academy Review, Issue 10, 2007.
Read the edited transcript of the discussion at a workshop on 'Cabinets and the Bomb', held at the British Academy on Wednesday 27 March 2007.