§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have any reason to dispute the recent statement of the Director of the US Ballistic Defence Organisation that the British taxpayer has contributed nearly half of the "foreign investment" in the research and development of the organisation (HL Deb, 21 June, col. WA21).
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Henley):As I made clear in my Answer of 21 June, the UK is not in a position to dispute or confirm the amount of the UK's contribution of research and development as a proportion of that of other US allies.