HC Deb 19 February 1969 vol 778 cc446-8
11. Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

asked the Secretary of State for Defence when, according to his plans, the capability based in this country for the purpose of assisting our friends and allies in the Middle and Far-East will be ready; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Healey

We have no plans to maintain a special capability for use outside Europe after our withdrawal from the Middle and Far East is completed. We shall rely on our general capability which can be deployed overseas as, in our judgment, circumstances demand.

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

Does the right hon. Gentleman recall that the former Foreign Secretary, not much more than a year ago, put great emphasis on the existence of this capability as an answer to the suggestion that we were abandoning our friends and allies in the Far East? Have we lost "Capability Brown" and now got only "Incredibility Healey?"

Mr. Healey

The right hon. Gentleman's information is not as good as his wit. The fact is that we have, as I have just made clear, the capability to deploy forces from the European area to the Far East as, in our judgment, circumstances demand. We shall demonstrate this capability in practice in an exercise with four of our Commonwealth partners in the Far East next year.

Mr. R. C. Mitchell

Who are our friends and allies in the Middle East?

Hon. Members

Answer.

Mr. Healey

If my hon. Friend recalls, I talked about our partners in the Far East.

Rear-Admiral Morgan Giles

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether ships of the Royal Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary will be part of the general capability to which he referred?

Mr. Healey

Of course.

Mr. Shinwell

May I ask my right hon. Friend whether the capability to which he referred includes the 170,000 ex-National Servicemen who are to be retained after July next as a result of legislation introduced by the Government? Does this not mean that conscripted men will exceed the number of volunteers in the Armed Forces and that conscription still remains the policy of the Government?

Mr. Healey

No, Sir. If my right hon. Friend looks at what was said by my right hon. Friend, or if he looks at tomorrow's White Paper, which I cannot anticipate, he will see that out of the 170,000 ex-National Servicemen who have a liability for service under the Army General Reserve, there are no plans for calling up more than 15,000, and those would be called in only in circumstances—[Interruption.] These were plans laid by the previous Government, as the right hon. Member for Harrogate (Mr. Rams-den) will know, as he was Secretary of State for War. I think that he introduced this proposal. These men would be called up only in cases of grave national emergency, primarily as individual reinforcements for our forces in Germany.

Mr. Rippon

What do the Government have to say about this legislation to which the right hon. Member for Easington (Mr. Shinwell) referred? What legislation have they in mind? Has this been revealed only to the Parliamentary Labour Party?

Mr. Healey

The right hon. and learned Gentleman should recall that my right hon. Friend referred to the possibility of legislation in a speech he made before Christmas. Perhaps the right hon. and learned Gentleman was dozing at the time.