§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessments he has made of building a new national warship following a decision to withdraw from Project Horizon; [68515]
(2) what assessment he has made of the cost of withdrawing from Project Horizon. [68514]
§ Mr. George RobertsonWe have made no decision to withdraw from Project Horizon. I am urgently addressing the way forward with our French and Italian partners.
A preliminary assessment has indicated that, as an alternative to Project Horizon, a national warship option, together with the continued collaborative development of the PAAMS anti-air missile system, could provide the Royal Navy with the capability it needs, in an affordable and effective manner.