§ Sir Ian Orr-Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Defence what sums have actually been spent year by year since 1959–60 on items legitimately chargeable to defence both in the Defence Budget and outside it, shown separately, what percentage this is of the gross national product; and what are the same estimated figures for 1969–70 and 1970–71.
§ Mr. HealeyThe information is provided below. The figures of expenditure falling outside the Defence Budget have been prepared on the same basis as was described in my reply to the hon. Member on 18th November, 1969, but for the years 1959–60 and 1960–61 they also exclude expenditure financed from Federal German Republic contributions.
trial capability to manufacture atomic weapons at the present time.
§ Mr. John MorrisAny country with a relatively advanced technological base could have the scientific capacity to develop and manufacture some type of 109W atomic device provided it was prepared to allocate sufficient national resources to doing so. I am not prepared to speculate on which specific countries might meet these conditions.