§ Q2. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Prime Minister if he now intends to take a flight in Concorde.
§ The Prime MinisterI would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on Tuesday to Questions from my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol, North-East (Mr. Adley) and the hon. Member for West Lothian (Mr. Dalyell).
I should like to add that in answer to my hon. Friend for Bristol North-East's supplementary question on Tuesday, I said that the Government are providing £1 million a day for the Concorde. I should have referred to expenditure of £1 million a week, and I apologise to the House for this mistake.—[Vol. 823, c. 1470.]
§ Mr. HamiltonIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that the House is getting accustomed to that kind of minor mistake by this Government? Will he understand that his reluctance to engage in the great adventure of flying in this aircraft is widely interpreted as a decision that the Concorde is unlikely to be an economically sound investment by this country? Will he either get up in the aircraft or get up in the House and say that he thinks it will be a going concern?
§ The Prime MinisterThere is no justification whatever for drawing that conclusion. As I pointed out on Tuesday, the resources which the Government are putting into this aeroplane are very great. I also mentioned that the airlines 2071 —and they are the people who matter—make their judgment upon their assessment of the viability, the commercial advantage and the performance of the aircraft.
§ Mr. AdleyWill my right hon. Friend accept that many of us welcome the decision of the Conservative Government in 1962 to start the project and have every confidence that the present Government will see it through to fruition?