§ Mr. Critchleyasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will encourage Government involvement in the discussions and work of the independent European Programme Group.
§ Dr. GilbertThe United Kingdom has from the beginning been actively involved in the full range of the work of the European Programme Group. We will continue to contribute towards the successful development of this body, which is now the main European forum for collaboration in the defence equipment field. Further information about the activities of the group is to be found in paragraph 152 on page 16 of the Statement on Defence Estimates 1977 (Cmnd. 6735) which refers in particular to important studies on future aircraft and helicopters.