Mr. O'NeillTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has had any consultations with(a) Plessey, (b) GEC-Marconi, (c) British Aerospace or (d) Ferranti regarding the development of closer links between European defence contractors.
§ Mr. SainsburyThe Ministry has frequent informal discussions with United Kingdom industry on a wide range of topics, including links between defence contractors. Such links are also discussed within the independent European programme group and with the European defence industry group. Consultations between the Ministry and individual companies on matters of comercial sensitivity are treated as confidential.