§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the figure of offset business placed with British firms on the AWACS contract following the Nimrod cancellation; was this greater or less than the 13 per cent. offset agreement; what proportion of this business would have been placed in the United Kingdom if Nimrod had not been cancelled; and if he will list which firms benefited.
§ Mr. AitkenAs I stated in my answer of 20 May,Official Record, column 190, Boeing has submitted to my Department reports listing contracts placed with United Kingdom firms totalling some $2.1 billion, of which we have agreed some $1.57 billion to count for offset credit. This latter figure exceeds the 130 per cent. target set in the agreement and Boeing have therefore met their obligation. It is not possible to say what proportion of these orders would have been placed in the United Kingdom had Nimrod not been cancelled. Details of Boeing's reports of the firms which benefited are commercially confidential and cannot be released.