HL Deb 12 January 1998 vol 584 cc154-5WA
Lord Kennet

asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they propose to allow the release of the following studies commissioned by the previous government: (a) ballistic missile defence technologies, from a consortium of firms led by British Aerospace and Messrs. Lockheed Ltd.; and (b) the fundamental issues of ballistic missile defences, from Professor Neville Brown.

Lord Gilbert

The study into ballistic missile defence systems conducted by a consortium led by British Aerospace contains a great deal of information which remains classified. We do not therefore propose to publish it. We are, however, declassifying the internal Ministry of Defence report based on this and other external inputs. This will involve a considerable amount of detailed work but should be completed during Autumn 1998. Work on a declassified version of Professor Brown's fundamental issues study report is nearing completion. Publication of the report will be a matter for Professor Brown.