asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the implications for the Nimrod airborne early warning programme of the proposed joint development of an airborne early warning system by General Electric Company, Marconi and Lockheed.

[pursuant to his reply, 17 June 1985, c. 38–39]: GEC Avionics has assured officials of my Department, and is being asked to confirm in writing, that any work by this company on a variant of the mission system avionics under development for the Nimrod AEW would have no adverse effect on the Nimrod AEW programme.