§ Mr. Alasdair MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many unexplained explosions have been noted by the British Geological Survey in the vicinity of Beaufort's Dyke over the last 20 years; and what was their strength. [32025]
§ Mr. Macdonald[holding answer 2 March 1998]: The issue of unexplained explosions in an area stretching from Islay to the Isle of Man was publicly aired by the British Geological Survey in December 1995. This was followed up by the Scottish Office at that time and all explosions occurring in the Beaufort's Dyke area during 1995 were fully accounted for by either defence or marine construction activities including pipelaying. The passage of time precluded similar investigations of earlier years but there is no reason to believe that the source of these explosions was greatly different.