§ Mr. Gerald HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the French Government are to be allowed privileged access to commercially sensitive information in connection with the CVF project; and if he will make a statement. [113903]
§ Mr. IngramA Letter of Intent setting out the responsibilities of both countries in respect to the exchange of CVF information was signed by the then Chief of Defence Procurement and his French counterpart in April 2003. This makes clear that the provision of technical data between the United Kingdom and France is subject to security and commercial constraints, including those that might touch upon the interests of third parties.