Unite pressure being felt at Downing Street over need to support UK
manufacturing
The following text is a extract of the regular Downing Street
lobby briefing.
PM - Lobby briefing – 1 February 2012:
>
> On India's decision to select a French fighter aircraft over
the Eurofighter, the spokesman said, " We are looking at this
issue. Clearly, clearly it is not a done deal. The contract has not
been awarded yet but it is not good news that the French have been
named the preferred bidder."
>
> He said the High Commission in India had been asked to give an
assessment.
>
> It was put to him that the Unite union had said the defence
white paper today was a 'stunning betrayal of British
manufacturing' because it calls for a 'off-the-shelf' procurement
policy. This would lead to the loss of thousands of jobs, they
said.
>
> The spokesman replied that procurement had been a problem in
the past. There was a 'huge hole' in the defence budget.
>
> "The priority is to get the best deal for the armed forces.
That is why we have gone the way we have - buying
off-the-shelf rather than some sort of bespoke solution.
Also, we have a very competitive defence industry in this
country."
>
> So the union is right then, he was asked.
>
> He replied: " There is a big black hole in the defence budget.
We are seeking to fix that."
ENDS
Notes to news editors:
