§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Minister of State for Defence (1) what study he has made of the additional expense incurred by installing Spey engines into Phantom aircraft; and what conclusions he has drawn;
(2) what note he has taken of the Public Accounts Committee Report on the installation of the Rolls-Royce Spey engine in Phantom.
§ Mr. Ian GilmourI am aware of the report of the Public Accounts Committee which covered this subject fully in the 1967–68 Session. I accept the recommendation that if we buy an existing equipment from abroad we should keep modifications to the minimum compatible with operational requirements, and should obtain adequate information about the cost of those modifications.