§ Mr. Parkinasked the Secretary of State for Defence why the agreement to supply 174W 600 tons of surplus small arms to Saudi Arabia did not include an arrangement to transport them to that country.
§ Mr. ReynoldsThe Ministry of Defence does not normally undertake to arrange transport of surplus stores outside the United Kingdom. In this case our contractual commitment was to deliver free on board the aircraft.
§ 55 and 56. Mr. Parkinasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what offers he made to deliver by Service transport the 600 tons of surplus small arms sold to Saudi Arabia, and why it was necessary for these arms to be transported in small quantities over a period of several months by a Spanish private freight firm flying them from the United Kingdom to Brussels;
(2) why the consignments of surplus small arms sold to Saudi Arabia are now being delivered to a civil airport in this country.
§ Mr. ReynoldsNo offers were made. As regards the quantities and period of delivery, these had to take account of the carrying capacity and frequency of the aircraft chartered by the purchaser.
Because the Service air station originally used was temporarily closed for a short period, a civil airport with adequate storage facilities is now being used for the quantities and types of arms remaining to be delivered.