§ Mr. Allenasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the reasons for and the effects upon the United Kingdom's defence of the closure of the Thorn-EMI factory in Bulwell, Nottingham, a principal supplier of nerve gas detection equipment to his Department.
§ Mr. Sainsbury[pursuant to his reply, 1 July 1987, c. 114]: Subject to the satisfactory fulfilment of their contractual obligations to the Department, closures of sites by defence contractors are entirely a matter for the commercial judgment of the companies themselves. We expect no difficulty in finding alternative sources of