§ Mr. WilkinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what response he has had from the Belgian Defence Minister, now president of the WEU, to his letter of early December 1989 suggesting closer ties between the independent European programme group and the WEU; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkIt is assumed that my hon. Friend is referring to the letter sent last November by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Defence, to my hon. Friend the Member for Hampstead and Highgate (Sir G. Finsberg), the leader of the United Kingdom delegation to the WEU assembly. That letter expressed merit in a closer association between the Independent European Programme Group (IEPG) and the WEU. A detailed information letter on the IEPG was subsequently sent to the WEU presidency by the IEPG chair. As yet there has been no response from the WEU.