§ Ms. ShortTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the number of incidents of detection of Soviet submarines in the vicinity of(a) the United States navy base at Holy Loch and (b) British naval bases in 1978; and whether the frequency of such incidents has increased since President Gorbachev announced changes in Soviet military strategy towards defensive defence.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonI presume that the hon. Member intended to refer to 1987. The answer is(a) nil; (b) nil. Since the announced change in Soviet military strategy towards "defensive defence" there have been no such detections.