§ Mr. Prescottasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many naval vessels have been used and are being used in the Icelandic dispute; and what is the estimated cost to date of this operation.
§ Mr. Ian GilmourI have been asked to reply.
Since 19th May a presence of three frigates has been maintained for fishery protection duties in the disputed waters around Iceland. A total of 10 frigates has been involved in maintaining this presence. It is not possible to identify the extra costs involved in this operation compared with the costs of the duties on which the ships might otherwise have been engaged.