How many nuclear warheads does the UK possess? Hague drops a bombshell and reveals all...

It was safe to say that more than a few members sat in the House of Commons earlier today during the debate on the Queen's Speech were a bit shellshocked to hear the new Foreign Secretary William Hague reveal how many nuclear warheads the government owns.

After all, normally governments talk about this sensitive subject ambiguously, and if pressed only revealing how many operationally available nuclear warheads were present, but Mr Hague has gone one step further.

But does this diminish our countries ‘nuclear deterrent’ if indeed such a thing exists? No, according to Mr Hague who said this disclosure "poses no threat to the security of the UK. It helps set standards of transparency which all states should follow."

“We judge this will further assist in nurturing the climate of trust between nuclear and non-nuclear states.”

Mr Hague also announced that the UK's declaration policy, which maps out the condition in which it would be willing to launch a nuclear strike, was being re-examined.

As it stands, the policy states the purpose of the UK's nuclear capacity is to “deter attack and would only be used in extreme circumstances to defend Britain or its allies”.

However as Mr Hague continued to explain, “we've decided the time is right to look again at our policy, as the US has done, to ensure it is fully appropriate for the context of 2010 and beyond.”

"These concrete actions show how seriously we take our obligations to strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation treaty while maintaining our deterrent."

The number, in case you were wondering, is 225...