Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Defence – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 21 February 2000.
Geoff Hoon
Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence
12:00,
21 February 2000
Absolutely not. Portsmouth is a vital port for the Royal Navy and will continue to be so, but as my hon. Friend will have heard in my answer to the substantive question, those vessels do not come into service until 2012 and 2015. I assure him and the House that the investigation of berthing facilities at Portsmouth will continue as a matter of urgency in order to meet those two dates.