§ Mr. James Davidsonasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the arms orders to a value of 170 million dollars which Great Britain will lose as a result of the withdrawal of their support under the offset agreement relating to Great Britain's cancelled order for Fill aircraft.
§ Mr. John MorrisI assume the hon. Member is referring to co-operative sales of defence equipment under the Fill Arrangement for which a target of 400 million dollars was established. Prior to termination of this Arrangement we had 27W secured orders worth 280 million dollars and these still stand. It is not possible to make hypothetical assessments of what might have been achieved in the way of sales to third countries if the Fill order had not been cancelled.
§ Mr. James Davidsonasked the Secretary of State for Defence what specific items of British equipment had the United States either ordered or made inquiries about, in relation to the sum of 129 million dollars earmarked for arms purchases from Great Britain in return for the British order for Fill aircraft.
§ Mr. John MorrisA target of 325 million dollars, later increased to 425 million dollars, was established for United States procurement of defence equipment from the United Kingdom under the Fill Arrangement. A final figure for the value of the contracts placed cannot be assessed until they have been completed. No orders have been cancelled. It would be contrary to normal practice to disclose details of enquiries made about defence purchases.