§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he first learned of the existence of (a) the series of programmes on "The Secret Society" and (b) the programme on the Zircon satellite system.
§ Mr. RentonI refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister earlier today.
§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will dismiss Sir Peter Marychurch, as a result of the communication of the position of the Zircon satellite to British Aerospace.
§ Mr. RentonNo.
§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date the instruction was given to carry out an investigation to try to identify the source or sources of information on the Zircon satellite system given to Duncan Campbell and others for use in the media.
§ Mr. RentonInvestigations were initiated as soon as it was learnt what the BBC programme relating to this project might contain and were intensified when full information about it actually became known. At the request of my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General the Metropolitan police are carrying out an investigation into the matter.