§ 11. Mr. Morrisasked the Secretary of State for War what orders for Trojan armoured personnel carriers he has authorised; what were the dates on which such authorisations were given; on what dates the orders so authorised were placed with the manufacturers; and what are the expected delivery dates.
§ Mr. ProfumoThe decision to place a production order for over 1,000 of these vehicles was taken in August. Negotiations concerned with the allocation of the main contract have since been in progress and the contract is now about to be placed. I am afraid that the estimates as between the Ordnance Factories and industry leave me with no alternative but to place the whole order with industry. I expect delivery of the first vehicles early in 1964.
§ Mr. MorrisWith regard to the delays in this matter, will the utmost speed now be shown to ensure that the Army has adequate numbers of these vehicles at the earliest possible opportunity? Since the right hon. Gentleman is talking about as far back as March this year, if he has had encouraging reports from the field about these carriers, will the utmost speed be now shown?
§ Mr. ProfumoYes, certainly. We have been showing the utmost speed the whole way through. I think the hon. Gentleman will realise, when he considers the Answer I have just given, that I was not 357 anxious to depart from the preferred source policy and it was this important decision, to try to see whether the thing could be shared, which has been responsible for some delay, and, of course, everything will be done now to speed things up.