§ 23. Mr. Emrys Hughesasked the Minister of Defence to what extent he is studying the recent armed conflict in Egypt for the purpose of securing economies in defence expenditure.
§ Mr. HughesIs the Minister aware that the Minister of Defence said recently that he would unhesitatingly carry out the same operation again, and is that the view of Her Majesty's Government?
§ Mr. StracheyWill the Minister tell us, in the fight of these various statements this afternoon, whether there is any new review of defence policy as distinct from the one which was announced last summer? It is not clear to us.
§ Mr. BirchThe policy is a continuing one and the matter, of course, is being reviewed. I would impress on the right hon. Gentleman the fact that the Government's conclusions are announced at the time of the White Paper on Defence and the Estimates.
§ Mr. PagetSurely that is not good enough, is it? Have we not had an experience which has shown us that we cannot "go it" alone, and does that not involve some pretty radical reconsideration of what forces are useful and what are not?