Future Aircraft Carrier

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 1:24 pm on 30 January 2003.

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Photo of Nicholas Winterton Nicholas Winterton Conservative, Macclesfield 1:24, 30 January 2003

I welcome the procurement decision, but I strongly oppose the decision that the Secretary of State has announced to split the contract. I want to support British industry, and I have done so for all of the 32 years that I have been in this place. The French do not have a very good reputation for building large ships. How many jobs has the Secretary of State sacrificed to the French by splitting the contract, rather than giving the order to BAE Systems, whose proposal I have strongly supported all along?