Westland plc

Part of Opposition Day – in the House of Commons at 9:30 pm on 15 January 1986.

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Photo of Mr Leon Brittan Mr Leon Brittan , Richmond (Yorks) 9:30, 15 January 1986

No.

That will always be the right policy. When it comes to Government intervention, I am not taking an absolutist stance. I am not taking a stance that there are no circumstances in which it would be right for Government to have a policy or a view about which route was the preferred one. Nor am I saying that there are no circumstances in which it would be right for the Government to intervene financially as well as by expressing a preference.

My view in these matters is that it is perfectly legitimate for a Government to sponsor and assist British industry in certain cases by, for example, giving launch aid of some £250 million for the Airbus, the protection of which launch aid was a perfectly legitimate reason for me to warn Sir Raymond Lygo—[HON. MEMBERS: "Warn?"]—not against being a member of a consortium but of the danger presented to the consortium by talking about the issue in a way which stimulated protectionist attitudes in the United States.

Let me remind the House—