§ Mr. WilkinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the recent invitation to tender for the British Army anti-tank helicopter requirement was extended to the South African Atlas Denel corporation and the involvement of Her Majesty's Treasury; and what effect he expects this to have on the date of final selection.
§ Mr. AitkenAtlas Aviation, part of the Denel Corporation, submitted an unsolicited bid last November in response to my Department's invitation to tender for the Attack Helicopter. After preliminary assessment, and discussions with the company, it was decided that it should have access to the invitation to tender to allow them to put its bid on the same footing as the five solicited bids. This was a matter for MOD and Her Majesty's Treasury was not involved. Steps have been taken to minimise the effect on programme timescales, including strict conditions on the timing and quality of the Denel-Atlas bid. The impact on the date of final selection should be minimal.