§ 12. Mr. V. Yatesasked the Minister of Supply the estimated cost of carrying out the hydrogen bomb tests recently announced.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Supply (Mr. F. J. Erroll)It would not be in the public interest to say what will be the cost of these tests.
§ Mr. YatesOught not the House to have some idea of the financial effect of such tests? How can we make a proper assessment? Does this not mean that there must be a colossal waste of money which surely could be saved if there were an attempt to reach agreement on the abolition of these tests, which seems more simple to achieve than agreement on the abolition of the weapon?
§ Mr. ErrollMy right hon. Friend would like to give the information to the House, but the difficulty is that the publication of the figures would give an indication to other countries of the size of our nuclear effort.