asked the Secretary of State for Defence why one fewer Jaguar squadron is to be formed than was originally intended; and whether it was to have been based in the United Kingdom but assigned to NATO.

During the 1974 defence review a planning assumption—not a firm intention—to buy extra Jaguars was foregone. No definitive decisions had been taken prior to the defence review about the possible future use of these additional aircraft, which might have been employed either to back the planned force for a longer period of time or to form an extra squadron.