§ 47. Sir T. Beamishasked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the outstanding cost, showing interest separately, of United States arms and military equipment on order on 8th October, 1964, showing in tabular form the years in which repayments were due to be made; how much of the total amount due remains outstanding; and by how much this amount has been increased as a result of devaluation.
§ Mr. HealeyAbout £80 million of orders outstanding on 8th October, 1964 can be identified. A decision to order the U.S.-engined Phantom for the Royal Navy and certain components for the TSR2 programme had been taken by that time although no orders had actually been placed. The value of these orders would have been about £200 million. It is not possible to say how much of this total of about £280 million would now have been outstanding had the programmes been proceeded with. Substantial additional orders would also have been required to continue with the Polaris programme.