§ 9. Mr. Gordon Prentice. (Pendle)If he will estimate the cost of garrisoning the Falklands (a) since the restoration of democratic Government in Argentina and (b) for the last 12 months for which figures are available. [117887]
§ The Minister for the Armed Forces (Mr. John Spellar)Our best estimate is that some £2,263 million was spent on the Falklands garrison between 1983 and 1999. That includes the cost of constructing the Mount Pleasant airfield. In 1998–99, expenditure on the Falklands garrison came to £69 million.
§ Mr. PrenticeTwo billion pounds is a huge amount of money, and so is £69 million a year. Can that be justified, given the restoration of democratic government in Argentina? In these days of overstretch, is there a greater perceived threat to the Falklands than there is, for example, to Gibraltar from Spain, which also has a territorial claim'?
§ Mr. SpellarWe very much welcome the restoration and development of democracy in Argentina. Indeed, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently visited Argentina, and had very constructive discussions with Ministers there. He also visited the Falkland Islands and, again, had very useful discussions there, reinforcing our policy that the Falkland Islands are British and that sovereignty over the islands is not for negotiation. Accordingly, it is right that we should maintain a military presence as long as Argentina claims sovereignty over the islands.
§ Mr. Owen Paterson. (North Shropshire)Can the Minister guarantee that the air bridge will be maintained at its current frequency when discussing the cost of garrisoning the Falklands?
§ Mr. SpellarWe always look at sustainability, and how to undertake that most cost-effectively. The mechanism by which we do that is to consider and discuss it with the armed forces. The key thing is to ensure that we maintain an effective and viable presence and, indeed, that that is quite clear to the Argentines. We learned from a previous Government, who dropped their guard and perhaps gave the wrong signals to the Argentines.
§ Mr. Barry Jones. (Alyn and Deeside)Does my hon. Friend agree that garrison costs could be lower if he had available to him a heavy lift aircraft such as the A400M? 687 Can he say when there will be a decision? Is it not best to go for the short-term Antonov solution rather than the ruinously expensive C-17?
§ Mr. SpellarI think we shall have to institute a competition on how my right hon. Friend will manage to raise the subject of the A400M in any possible Defence questions. Once again, I congratulate him on his ingenuity. As he is aware, Ministers are considering the matter closely and hope to make an announcement shortly.