HC Deb 23 February 1988 vol 128 cc138-9
8. Mr. O'Brien

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current cost of maintaining the Jet Provost planes in operation.

Mr. Ian Stewart

About £65,000 per aircraft per year.

Mr. O'Brien

Is not the Minister's reply shameful, given that our pilots are training in antique planes, when the Minister promised the House that the Tucano aircraft would be in operation by this time? The Government have failed the country yet again on this issue. Is the Minister not ashamed to come to the Dispatch Box and say that the new planes are not being introduced and are costing the taxpayer a great deal of money? As my hon. Friend said, if the Minister had been a councillor and shown the same attitude, he would have been disqualified from holding office.

Mr. Stewart

I am sorry that both the hon. Gentleman and I have had part of the ground cut away from under our feet by the answers to the previous question. I repeat what my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement said. There is no extra cost to the Ministry of Defence budget through running on the Jet Provosts because, in the meantime, the Ministry of Defence does not have to find the up-front money for the Tucano. The Jet Provost is more expensive to run than the Tucano and it consumes more fuel, but, until such time as the Ministry of Defence has to pay for the Tucanos, the net effect of this is not to add any extra cost to the Ministry of Defence budget.

Mr. Bellingham

Will the Minister consider carefully the regulations governing the use of aircraft as demonstrators? Is he aware that yesterday a con man, purporting to represent the Sultan of Brunei, persuaded the Royal Air Force to fly up to Norwich airport a BA146 of the Queen's Flight for a full demonstration, involving a free flight and a full briefing of all the sensitive equipment in the aircraft? Will he tell the House why the RAF did not check that person's credentials? Does he agree that a full explanation is required?

Mr. Stewart

I agree with my hon. Friend that a full explanation is required, and I understand that the person concerned is helping the police with their inquiries.

Mr. Ron Brown

Given the Minister's statement, is it not also opportune to pay compensation to Sergeant Jarvey of the King's Own Scottish Borderers, who is linked with that project, and therefore compensate him in a small way for all the stupidity and nonsense that we heard from the brass hats in Berlin about his alleged misconduct? Is it not time that something was done to make amends to Sergeant Jarvey? Does the Minister remember the case?

Mr. Stewart

I do not know whether the person concerned was flying a Jet Provost at the time, but I find it difficult to relate the hon. Gentleman's remarks to what we have been discussing.