§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if(a) UK, (b) EU and (c) foreign defence contractors will be considered as strategic partners of QinetiQ. [47645]
§ Dr. MoonieI refer the hon Member to the announcement I made in the House on 6 March 2002, (Official Report, columns 313–14W). We have always made it clear that we will not consider any defence manufacturers as strategic partners of QinetiQ, nor any parties which would pose a risk to the defence and security interests of the United Kingdom. However, a large number of organisations which provide a wide range of services to Ministry of Defence could be regarded as defence contractors. As long as they do not fall into either of the two categories above, they will not be excluded from the QinetiQ transaction.