HC Deb 16 November 1966 vol 736 c412
3. Mr. Dalyell

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of British Indian Ocean bases.

Mr. Healey

We have no programme for creating bases in the British Indian Ocean territory. I can give no estimate of what such a programme might cost.

Mr. Dalyell

Does this mean that the concept of island bases has been given up?

Mr. Healey

For so long as I have been Secretary of State there has never been a concept of island bases. There has been the idea of establishing certain staging and other military facilities in certain territories in the Indian Ocean, and I have already given some figures about the sort of cost which might be involved. The only facility that we have at the moment in Gan—as I stated the other day—has cost us a total of only £6.25 million over the last 10 years.