§ 46. Mr. Wallasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on Exercise "Purple Oyster" and the protection of United Kingdom oil and gas resources.
§ Mr. DuffyThe purpose of exercises in the "Purple Oyster" series is to test military procedures for dealing with a terrorist incident on or near an offshore installation. Other exercises, on a smaller scale, are also regularly held to rehearse particular facets of the military response. All these exercises provide valuable experience and training opportunities. Military forces would be deployed for the protection of our offshore fuel resources only in response to a request from the civil authorities.