§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list by year for the last four years, the number of new mine counter-measures vehicles his Department has purchased; what is the estimate for the current financial year; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AitkenThere have been no purchases of mine counter-measures vessels in the last four years. The last batch ordered was for four single role minehunters (SRMH) in 1987. The first of this batch, HMS Inverness, was accepted from the shipyard, Vosper Thornycroft Ltd, in February 1991 and the last of the batch, HMS Bridport, was accepted in June 1993. We hope to make an announcement on single role minehunters before the end of the year.