§ 4. Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress he has made on the development of Eurofighter. [13716]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotWe announced last September that we were ready to proceed to the production, production investment and support phases of the programme on a four-nation basis, and we very much hope that the other nations will soon be able to commit to those phases of the project.
§ Mr. EvansDoes my hon. Friend agree that the European fighter aircraft is important to my constituency and to neighbouring constituencies, where thousands of workers are committed to the project, and that it will ensure that our young pilots in the Royal Air Force have the best aircraft possible into the next century?
Does my hon. Friend further agree that those who work on the project will have been surprised that, during last Thursday's debate on the RAF, when the Opposition had several opportunities to say that the project would not be part of any review that they would undertake if they formed the next Government, they did not do so? People remember the cancellation of the TSR2 project, which cost hundreds of jobs in the Preston area. Is this not a case of new Labour, but same old danger?
§ Mr. ArbuthnotMy hon. Friend is completely right. The hon. Member for South Shields (Dr. Clark) let the cat out of the bag in October when he said that a Labour defence review would have "painful consequences". We cannot assess what those consequences would be unless the Labour party is prepared to say that a project such as Eurofighter, which is vital to our defence and to our industrial capability, would be exempted from the review. My hon. Friend is right to mention the TSR2 debacle. Lancashire still remembers that Harold Wilson promised that the TSR2 jobs would be safe, and that, within a few months, they were axed.
§ Mr. SpellarWell, Madam Speaker, they are certainly at it again, are they not? In the past two Question Times and, as the hon. Member for Ribble Valley (Mr. Evans) said, in the debate on the Royal Air Force, Conservative Members raised the question of Eurofighter and got absolutely clear answers. We expressed our support for the project, but still they play silly political games. Do they not understand the consequences of those antics, 127 when Germany has not yet signed the production contract? Raising such uncertainty can only give ammunition to those in Germany who do not want to order the Eurofighter. When will they start to back the aircraft, which the RAF wants, British industry and British workers?
§ Mr. ArbuthnotI suspect, Madam Speaker, that I am not allowed to accuse the hon. Gentleman of breathtaking hypocrisy, so I shall not do it. I shall merely say that this Conservative Government are committed to the Eurofighter. The hon. Gentleman has refused time and again—he has done it again today—to say that it would not form part of a Labour defence review.
§ Mr. ArbuthnotWe expect to take possession of our first Eurofighter in 2001, as does Germany. Spain and Italy expect to take possession of their first Eurofighters the following year.