§ Rear-Admiral Morgan-Gilesasked the Minister of State for Defence what is his estimate of the value of the equipment which has been removed from the H.M.S. "Eagle"; and what proportion of this will be used for H.M.S. "Ark Royal" and other ships.
§ Mr. KirkIt is not possible to give any realistic estimate. Almost all of the equipment removed from H.M.S. "Eagle" will be used to support Her Majesty's Ships, in particular H.M.S. "Ark Royal".
§ Rear-Admiral Morgan-Gilesasked the Minister of State for Defence whether it is still his intention to keep H.M.S. "Eagle" in unmaintained reserve until the end of 1973.
§ Mr. KirkThe disposal of H.M.S. "Eagle" is proceeding on the lines I outlined in the Navy debate on 10th April. Stores and equipment are being removed before towing her to Devon-port where further removal of equipment will take place. However, a decision on when she should be disposed of for scrap will not be taken until later, probably not before the end of 1973.—[Vol. 834, c. 979.]