§ Mr. Clark Hutchisonasked the Lord Privy Seal what is the nature of the help Her Majesty's Government are giving to the Government of Libya in the formation of a Libyan navy.
§ Mr. HeathThe Libyan Minister of Defence, during his visit to London in July, discussed with my noble Friends the Foreign Secretary and the First Lord of the Admiralty the wish of the Libyan Government to form a Navy. As a result of these discussions, Her Majesty's Government have agreed to send a Naval Mission to Libya, and the cost of this Mission together with the cost of training a number of officers and ratings at British naval training establishments, will be met by Her Majesty's Government. This is expected to amount to £47,000 in the first year. Parliament will in due course be asked to vote the required amount by means of a Supplementary Estimate.
In addition, the Royal Navy, is supplying the Libyan Government with two inshore minesweepers to form the nucleus of the Libyan Navy. These vessels are on loan pending a decision about the settlement of the financial arrangements.