§ 3.8 p.m.
§ LORD BOOTHBYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the second Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consider that the Blue Streak project has any further useful purpose to serve.]
§ THE LORD PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL AND MINISTER FOR SCIENCE (VISCOUNT HAILSHAM)My Lords, in the view of Her Majesty's Government the work already done on Blue Streak has created a valuable opportunity for the development of a heavy launcher for satellites and, as your Lordships know, Her Majesty's Government and the French Government recently presented at Strasbourg proposals for a cooperative effort to that end. The views of certain other European and Commonwealth countries are now awaited.
§ LORD BOOTHBYMy Lords, will the noble Viscount bear in mind what we have already lost, a clean £100 million, on this project that the possibilities of space may be unlimited but they are also extremely expensive, and that we do not want to land ourselves or our Allies into a further comparable loss?
§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAMMy Lords, I will indeed bear in mind all that the noble Lord has said. I will also bear in mind that a great number of people think that there are distinct commercial possibilities in the development of a satellite communications system, and there certainly are considerable advantages in space research.
§ LORD SHEPHERDMy Lords, may I ask the noble Viscount the Leader of the House whether he is aware that the noble Viscount, Lord Elibank, is back in his seat and I would apologise to him because 'I used his name last night in describing a campaign that some of us would lodge against the Government? My Lords, would the noble Viscount not agree that if some of the money that has been used in this particular project had been put to the external services of the B.B.C. the understanding overseas of this country's case would be much better?
§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAMMy Lords, I do not think I need add anything to what I said in debate some months ago about the military possibilities of Blue Streak. I think that if 'we are going to develop either new civil projects or new military weapons, there will be a good number of projects Which will succeed, I hope, and a number Which will not.
§ LORD SHACKLETONMy Lords, would the noble Viscount bear in mind that although, thanks to the folly of the Government, we have a weapon that is unsuitable for defence, none the less it is possible to gain something of great benefit to this country if they will persevere in the face of those Who perhaps do not have the imagination to appreciate the enormous potential benefits to this country that will come from taking part in a co-operative space programme?
§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAMMy Lords, I would accept all that, except the part about folly.
§ LORD BOOTHBYMy Lords., arising out of what the noble Lord, Lord Shackleton, said, I would ask my noble friend to bear very closely in mind that, so far as we know, there is nobody in space: nobody exists in space. That is why I think the noble Lord's suggestion about broadcasting might 'have more practical possibilities.
§ VISCOUNT HAILSHAMMy Lords, I was under the impression that we were all in space.