§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what priority was given to the need to provide a secure communication link following the privatisation of British Telecommunications in the decision to proceed with the Boxer system and the application to build a 300 ft mast at Brizlee Wood, near Alnwick.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe proposed radio mast at Brizlee Wood will establish the east coast Boxer 2 route to defence units in the northern United Kingdom, and will thus be an essential link in the national and NATO communications network. Brizlee Wood was selected as the preferred location for this mast because it is already an important defence installation. The need for the Boxer 2 communications bearer system is based on the requirement to provide a nationwide secure and survivable60W communications system. The system will be introduced into service progressively during the early 1990s. The need for such a system was recognised many years before the privatisation of the British Telecom national network.