§ Dr. David Owenasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, what is the estimated foreign exchange saving of British redeployment in the Middle East including the closure of the base at Aden and the proposed adjustment to military facilities in the Gulf; and what is the extra foreign exchange expenditure on military aid to South Arabia.
§ Mr. George ThomsonThe answer to the first part of the Question, is£15 million a year; to the second part, about£4 million a year. The latter figure is net of a sum of about£6 million in foreign exchange expenditure which we were spending on military aid to South Arabia before the military expansion programme. There will thus be a considerable net saving for the next three years; thereafter, the saving of£15 million per annum will be complete.