§ Q61. Sir David PriceTo ask the Prime Minister what is her response to the conclusion in the fourth report of the Select Committee on Defence of Session 1987–88 that the decline in the British merchant fleet has alarming implications for the United Kingdom's national and collective security and that only she is in a position to take a broad overview of a national maritime policy.
§ The Prime MinisterThe Government will be responding to the conclusions in the Defence Committee's report in due course, but I can assure my hon. Friend that I and my ministerial colleagues have regularly examined the implications of the decline of the British merchant fleet in recent years and have already introduced a number of measures designed to safeguard the national interest.