§ 17. Mr. Ian Harveyasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air what measures have now been taken by the Royal Air Force to provide the ground-to-air defence of Great Britain.
Mr. WardI have nothing to add to the information I gave in my speech on the Air Estimates on 10th March last.
§ Mr. HarveyIs my hon. Friend aware that there would appear to be a very serious gap in the take-over by the Royal Air Force of the anti-aircraft network formerly provided by the Army, and that this gap cannot be allowed to continue for any length of time; and can he give us an assurance that something will be done in the matter in the near future?
Mr. WardAs I pointed out in the debate on the Air Estimates, the deployment of surface-to-air guided weapons in the United Kingdom is still subject to detailed study, and the weapons with which we go into production must really meet the threat and at the same time be capable of further development. Good progress is being made in both those directions.