Monday 11th August 2025
Difficulty: Medium
Letters of last resort (Quiz #997)
Test launch of a Trident II missile by a Vanguard-class submarine. Photo: unknown author. (Public domain)
The letters of last resort are identically worded, handwritten letters from the prime minister of the United Kingdom to the commanding officers of each of the UK's ballistic missile submarines, and stored on board of each. They contain orders on what action should be taken if a nuclear strike has destroyed the British government, the prime minister, and their designated deputy.
1. How many letters of last resort does a new prime minister have to write?
2. Where on the submarines are the letters of last resort stored?
3. Which prime minister, on being asked to write his/her letters, is said to have cancelled a weekend at Chequers and gone home to consider the matter?
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