§ 47. Mr. Blackburnasked the Minister of Defence what priority is being given, both in material and in manpower within the three Services, to ensure the establishment of a sufficiently powerful Royal Air Force to guarantee air supremacy over our shores.
§ Mr. AlexanderI would refer my hon. Friend to paragraph 60 of the Statement relating to Defence (Cmd. 7327). Within the scope of a Parliamentary answer it would not, I think, be practicable to go into the complex question of the balance to be struck between the various elements that make up our Defence Forces.
§ Mr. BlackburnMay I ask the Minister whether he has taken into account the very strong expression of opinion last week in another place that, in the opinion of many experts, the Royal Air Force is pot at the moment receiving sufficient priority?
§ Mr. AlexanderI can assure my hon. Friend that we take all these matters into most careful consideration, but we have to deal with the situation in all the circumstances that face us.