Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book deals with the interrelationships and contradictions between the test ban and weapons development by providing a narrative of the key events that shaped this aspect of British nuclear weapons history. Historians have thus far ignored the impact of arms control on the UK nuclear weapons programme. Yet given the wealth of material now available in the National Archives, it is possible to undertake a detailed review of the one arms control issue that could have had the most impact on the nascent British weapons development programme, a test ban. The threat of a test-ban treaty hung over the UK nuclear weapons programme for much of the period covered by this book; the interrelationships changed over time as programme and international pressures varied.