§ Mrs. CurrieTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence in what year the armed forces (i) announced and (ii) implemented metrication. [37676]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotIn 1965 the Government announced their intention that metric units should become the primary system of measurement in the United Kingdom. That intention was subsequently confirmed in the 1972 White Paper on metrication—Cm 4880. A defence 475W standard prescribing the metric units to be used by the Ministry of Defence, including the services, was developed and published in 1976.