§ 7. Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will consider purchasing the British Airways fleet of VC10s which are shortly to be replaced in civil use so that they may be available to augment the Royal Air Force existing VC10 transport and tanker aircraft.
§ Mr. PattieWe have no plans to make an offer for these aircraft for use in the RAF's transport or tanker fleets.
§ Mr. TrotterDoes my hon. Friend accept that this is a one-off opportunity to acquire for scrap prices aircraft which would have a role for another 15 or 20 years in the RAF? Should not they be bought now while they are available and, if need be, kept until funds are available to bring them into service?
§ Mr. PattieMy hon. Friend will know that the problem at the moment is one of not having the resources available to make the acquisition in the first place and not having the manpower resources available to operate the aircraft.
§ Mr. WilkinsonIf my hon. Friend's Department is unable to purchase these aircraft, can he say how the requisitioned aircraft from civil air transport companies which may be required under section 10 of the Civil Aviation Act will be crewed? Will the crews be subject to RAF discipline and if not, will he look into this matter as a matter of urgency?
§ Mr. PattieThis matter is being currently studied.
§ Mr. SnapeThe question that I was about to ask the Minister has just been asked by the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood (Mr. Wilkinson). [Laughter.]—At least I was honest about it, Mr. Speaker. However, the Minister's reply was extremely unsatisfactory. He has been playing a dead bat on this issue for weeks. Does he intend to sign up British Airways pilots?
§ Mr. PattieI have just told my hon. Friend that this issue is being studied, and it is being studied.