§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the estimated cost of the rendezvous of HMS Turbulent, HMS Superb and two RAF Nimrods at the north pole in May; if any of this cost will be reimbursed by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Ian StewartThe surfacing at the north pole by Her Majesty's submarines Turbulent and Superb formed part of a programme of Royal Navy trials and experiments in the Arctic ocean. Similarly, recording of the event by RAF Nimrod aircraft was undertaken as part of a normal training sortie. Consequently, any additional costs associated with the rendezvous would have been small and cannot be identified accurately in isolation from the costs of the exercises as a whole. The rendezvous was not undertaken on behalf of Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited and no financial contribution is therefore being sought from that source.