§ Sir W. Robson Brownasked the Secretary of State for War why Her Majesty's Government sold 600,000 Service rifles to a firm called International Armament Corporation, the financial control of which is outside the United Kingdom; what were the circumstances of this sale; what conditions were imposed on the buyer; at what price the rifles were sold; and how the price compared with the cost of manufacture.
§ Mr. ProfumoThese rifles were sold in 1958 by the former Ministry of Supply, after competition amongst gun dealers, to a British firm of gunsmiths and firearms dealers (Cogswell & Harrison Ltd.) who are associated with International Armament Corporation, an American concern. The rifles were surplus to Army needs. They were obsolete and unserviceable, some being fit only for cannibalisation.
Apart from the Standard Conditions of Contract applicable to the sale of 88W Government surpluses, the purchasers were under obligation to observe the statutory requirements in connection with the purchase, sale and export of firearms, for example, the need to obtain an export licence.
It would not be in line with accepted practice to disclose the prices obtained; and since these rifles were manufactured over a long period, during the war years or earlier, it would not now be practicable to make any direct comparison between the sale price and the cost of manufacture.