Mr. O'NeillTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 20 December,Official Report, column 383, what action was taken by his Department as a result of establishing that the steel tubes which Walter Somers Ltd. proposed to export to Iraq were almost certainly pressure vessels of some kind.
§ Mr. Kenneth CarlisleThe discussions with Walter Somers Ltd. were undertaken following a request from the Department of Trade and Industry for advice on the 293W defence implications of the steel tubes which the company proposed to export to Iraq. Following these discussions the Department of Trade and Industry were informed that no military application could be established.