UK Ministry of Defence, The Minister for Defence Procurement, Lord Drayson, has today responded to inaccurate reports in a national daily newspaper concerning his appearance before the House of Commons Defence Committee this morning, 25 October 2005.
The report alleged that Lord Drayson had tried to block an inquiry into the progress of the project to build two new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy. This is incorrect.
In a letter to the editor, Lord Drayson said:
“I am extremely disappointed by the one sided approach you took in your article on the carrier programme.
“As the MOD press office explained to your reporter the Department takes its parliamentary commitments very seriously and co-operates with all Parliamentary committees as fully as possible.
“On the 20th September I wrote to the HCDC pointing out that, due to sensitive commercial considerations relating to the carrier programme, the department may not be best placed to answer the committee's questions completely, and that because of the need to protect the Department's negotiating position with industry it might be better to reschedule the hearing to a time when these issues had been resolved. When the committee made clear that it wished to press ahead I was happy to appear before them this morning and gave clear answers to the questions they raised. It is essential that we deliver the capability the Royal Navy require and get the best value for money for the British taxpayer. I would have thought [your newspaper] would be the first to support such an approach.
“You also assert that the carriers alone will cost
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