§ Mr. Masonasked the Minister of Defence on how many previous occasions he has authorised interviews such 23W as that granted to the Evening Standard on 20th March by his chief scientific adviser; and to what extent he proposes to adopt this practice in order that his scientific advisers may explain publicly problems confronting his department in the scientific field.
§ Mr. WatkinsonI do not intend to depart from existing practice of which the interview given by my scientific adviser was an example. This practice is to take all suitable opportunities of explaining, by whatever method is most appropriate, the nature of the various problems, scientific and otherwise, which confront us in the field of defence policy.