§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen),Official Report, 28 November, column 442, he will set out for each of the nuclear tests listed the proportion of the cost of each test charged to the United Kingdom and the cost in 1990 in sterling of each test conducted; and which of the tests resulted in the venting of radioactive gases to the atmosphere.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonIt is not the practice to reveal financial information associated with United Kingdom participation in nuclear tests. Of the 14 tests listed in my answer to the hon. Member for Leyton (Mr. Cohen) on 28 November at column442, there were operational releases of radioactive gases from three, namely Gibne, Armada and Barnwell. In none of these was any radioactivity detected at locations beyond the boundary of the Nevada test site.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his Department has received any information from the French Defence Ministry concerning the nuclear test conducted by France at Muroroa on 21 November.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe Ministry of Defence has received no information direct from the French Ministry of Defence on this subject. However, I understand that the French Ministry of Defence issued a statement via Agence France Presse immediately after the test on 21 November.