Richard Fuller
Main Page: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North Bedfordshire)Department Debates - View all Richard Fuller's debates with the Ministry of Defence
(13 years, 5 months ago)
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Peter Luff
First, I am happy to say that the shelf is stacked high with British products, and that makes us extremely successful in the international market. Britain is the second greatest exporter of defence equipment—and long may that be the case. On the other comments of the hon. Gentleman, whom I hold in high regard—we have had discussions on British industry before—I would point out that our life would be so much easier had we not inherited a total mess of a defence budget, including a £38 billion black hole. The things he is complaining about were the fault of the previous Government.
Richard Fuller (Bedford) (Con)
The previous Labour Government sold the defence contractor QinetiQ to a City firm that, a couple of years later, sold it for eight times the value and closed its plant in Bedfordshire with a consequential loss of employment. Will my hon. Friend ensure that he does a better job of defending our defence industrial base than the previous Labour Government?
Peter Luff
Speaking as someone from Worcestershire, where QinetiQ also has a very large presence, I absolutely understand what my hon. Friend is saying. It certainly would not be difficult to do a better job than the last lot did.