HC Deb 24 January 1967 vol 739 cc1252-3
20. Mr. Evelyn King

asked the Minister of Technology why he advertised in a pamphlet entitled, "The Engineers Day," a large picture of a slide rule obviously of foreign manufacture, when British-made slide rules are freely available.

Mr. Benn

I wrote fully to the hon. Member on 6th December on this subject and there is really nothing more I can say.

Mr. King

In thanking the Minister for that generous expression of regret, may I ask him to make amends by conceding that excellent British slide rules are made in Weymouth, in Dorset?

Mr. Benn

There is no doubt at all about the quality of British slide rules.

Mr. Shinwell

Why should my right hon. Friend apologise for buying foreign slide rules? After all, are we not going into the Common Market in the near future?

Mr. Benn

Except that in this case no foreign slide rule was bought. The designer picked out a group of slide rules for the poster. He did not notice that this was a foreign slide rule; it did not have the name on it. It passed a Committee including a representative of the engineering institutions, who did not notice the fact. As a result of the hon. Member's activity, it has now received wide publicity.