§ Mr. Newensasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) to which countries military aircraft have been sold in the past 10 years;
(2) to which countries warships have been sold in the past 10 years.
§ Mr. PattieIt has been the practice of successive Governments not to disclose such information.
§ Mr. David Youngasked the Secretary of State For Defence how many and which types of British missiles have been sold to Argentina.
§ Mr. PattieOver a period of years Argentina has purchased Tigercat, Seacat, Blowpipe and Sea Dart, all of which are British manufactured surface-to-air missiles.
§ Mr. Winnickasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the countries in Latin America which, until the start of the Falkland Islands emergency, were sold military equipment by the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. PattieOver the last 10 years the majority of Latin American countries have purchased items of British military equipment, although in some cases the quantities have been very small.
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§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the value of military sales to Argentina from the United Kingdom for each of the past five years.
§ Mr. Winnickasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the ships, arms and other forms of military equipment that have been sold by the United Kingdom to the Argentinian authorities since May 1979; and what was the total cost of such items.
§ Mr. PattieThe value of sales in the past five years is as follows:
£ million 1977 0.7 1978 4.9 1979 62.6 1980 46.7 1981 12.5 These figures represent those sales known to the Defence Sales Organisation. As such, although they give a general indication of the volume of our defence sales business, they may not be entirely comprehensive because not all sales, particularly those of a minor nature, need to be notified to the Ministry of Defence. All sales of military equipment are subject to the granting of an export licence by the Department of Trade. All defence sales business with Argentina has now been suspended.
Over half of the 1979 figure relates to Lynx helicopters which have not been delivered. The bulk of the 1980 figure is made up of contracts for equipment for the frigates being constructed in Germany for the Argentine Navy and not yet delivered. The main part of the 1981 figure relates to yet to be delivered refurbished Canberra aircraft.