§ 8. Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to meet the United States Defence Secretary to discuss deployment of United States forces in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. RifkindI spoke to Dr. Perry earlier this week. We discussed a range of issues of mutual interest.
§ Mr. FoulkesIs the Secretary of State aware that 29 American bases and facilities have closed over the past five years, with disastrous effects on local economies, adding to the existing effects of the loss of British defence jobs? When the right hon. and learned Gentleman talks to the United States Secretary of State, will he obtain details of the ․1.5 billion that the Americans spend on defence conversion, and learn something from them?
§ Mr. RifkindWhen the hon. Gentleman complains about the effects of American base closures he should remember that he belongs to a party which calls for far more serious reductions in British defence. He should also 140 be aware that our resettlement policies for people who leave the armed forces are the most generous in the world —considerably more so than those in the United States.
§ Mr. Bill WalkerWill my right hon. and learned Friend remind people that in 1945 the United States forces went home, and that it was only the Berlin airlift of 1948 that brought them back to the United Kingdom? We should never repeat that mistake. While the world is unstable, we require the presence of the United States and other NATO allies in order to deter.
§ Mr. RifkindIndeed, the United States has sent its forces to help in the defence of Europe three times this century. Once it was because of a threat from communism, the Soviet Union and the Warsaw pact. On the two other occasions, the threats to Europe were of a different order. That suggests that the links and the mutual interest between north America and western Europe antedated the cold war, and will continue to have relevance in the years ahead, although communism is no longer in Europe. Europe's security is of great importance to the United States, which justifies the continuation of the Atlantic alliance.
§ Dr. GodmanThe Secretary of State knows that the United States navy has departed from Holy Loch, but that occasionally its submarines come back into United Kingdom waters. Is he satisfied that when United States nuclear submarines are sailing in our waters their officers stick rigidly at all times to the code of practice for the safety of our fishing vessels?
§ Mr. RifkindWe expect all submarines to take into account the crucial importance of protecting the fishermen operating in those areas, and I have no reason to believe that the United States is anything other than conscientious with regard to those obligations.