Britain's N-weapons stockpile not to exceed 225 warheads

Britain's new coalition government for the first time revealed today that the country's nuclear weapons stockpile will not exceed 225 warheads as the maximum number of operationally available warheads remained at 160.

Foreign secretary William Hague today told parliament that Britain's nuclear weapons stockpile will not exceed 225 warheads.

Speaking in the House of Commons, he said the maximum number of operationally available warheads in the UK stockpile remained at 160.

It is for the first time that the government has revealed the full size of the UK’s atomic arsenal, spelling out the number of operational and non-operational warheads the country possesses.

Until now, the British government has only revealed that it possesses 160 operational nuclear warheads.

Hague told lawmakers that the time was right to be "more open" about the overall number of warheads held in the nuclear arsenal. He said the move was a "significant step".

The announcement comes as a UN nuclear non-proliferation review conference in New York is due to close on Friday.

We judge that this will assist in building a climate of trust between nuclear and non-nuclear weapons states and contribute therefore to future efforts to reduce the number of nuclear weapons worldwide," Hague said.

The United States and France have made similar announcements of their total stockpile numbers.

In March, the US revealed it has a stockpile of 5,113 nuclear warheads and "several thousand" more retired warheads that await dismantling in a move intended to encourage other countries to adopt non-proliferation rules.