§ Lord GRIDLEYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are satisfied with the existing facilities in the North Sea for the protection of oil rigs against armed attack from a foreign Power.
§ Lord WINTERBOTTOMYes, my Lords.
§ Lord GRIDLEYMy Lords, while thanking the noble Lord for the courtesy of that reply, first may I ask him whether he is really satisfied, in view of the many expressions of opinion by noble Lords in the defence debate last Thursday, that our conventional forces are adequate to deal with a sudden emergency which might arise, and which might be directed against our oil interests in the North Sea? Secondly, may I ask him whether he thinks that we are in danger of falling into a posture with inadequate conventional forces, whereby we might have to call in a nuclear strike in defence of our vital interests in this area?
§ Lord WINTERBOTTOMMy Lords, I hope that the noble Lord does not think that my short Answer was discourteous, but until he put his supplementary question I was not certain what he wished to know. His question is the first that we have received on this subject, which relates to an armed attack on the rigs by a foreign Power. An attack on the rigs would be equivalent to an attack on the national territory of the United Kingdom, and would be dealt with within 452 the general plans for the defence of the United Kingdom and adjoining sea areas. The resources immediately available are adequate for the type of attack, short of a general war, that might arise in some twilight period.
Lord CAMPBELL of CROYMy Lords, have the Government prepared, with those concerned, for what may be a more immediate danger; that is, the possibility of terrorists of any kind capturing a production platform, holding those on board as hostages and threatening our supplies of oil and gas?
§ Lord WINTERBOTTOMYes, my Lords. Adequate facilities are available for that purpose. Royal Marine forces and explosive ordnance disposal teams, with the necessary Sea King helicopter airlift, are available at short notice to go to the scene of such an incident, and backup forces can be provided as required from various units of the Armed Forces.
§ Lord CLIFFORD of CHUDLEIGHMy Lords, in view of the fact that our nuclear submarines are too large to operate in the North Sea and the English Channel, would it not be a good idea, in view of this Question, for the Government to reverse their policy of phasing-out or reducing our conventional submarines which can operate in these areas?
§ Lord WINTERBOTTOMMy Lords, that is another question.