‘Britain Given Ample Warning On Skybolt’

Press, Volume CI, Issue 30005, 14 December 1962, Page 13

‘Britain Given Ample Warning On Skybolt’

(N. Z.P. A.-Reuter—Copyright)

PARIS, December 12. Britain had had ample warning the Skybolt missile programme had run into trouble, United States officials said in Paris tonight on the eve of the three«day North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ministerial session.

Doubt over the future of the Skybolt, the planned basis for Britain’s nuclear deterrent, is reported to be threatening a serious breach in the Atlantic alliance. Problems affecting the future of the Skybolt had already become clear before Mr Thorneycroft became British Defence Minister last June, officials said.

Doubts about its future in view o-f immensely high development costs had been made perfectly clear to Mr Thorneycroft last September, informed sources said. The sources said the United States Defence Secretary (Mr McNamara) had made it clear in London talks yesterday there was no question of the United States not offering another weapon

to Britain if the Skybolt was scrapped. One possible replacement discussed was the Hound Dog stand-off bomb, understood to have I'out half the Skybolt’s range. Another was the supply of a force of Polaris submarines to Britain. A British Defence Ministry spokesman said in Paris tonight no decision on the future of the Skybolt was expected before the Bahamas meeting between President Kennedy and Mr Macmillan. A bid to scrap the Polaris agreement between Britain and the United States was re-

soundingly squashed in the House of Commons tonight. The House by 177 votes to 34 refused a member, Mr Emrys Hughes (Independent Labour) leave to bring in a bill aimed at banishing Polaris submarines from Holy Loch, Scotland. Mr Hughes said the agreement on siting of the submarines in Scotland was a “bad agreement,” tihe “Daily Mail” reported. Mr Anthony Kershaw (Conservative) said the Holy Loch agreement should never be terminated by a one-sided declaration as was proposed in 'he bill.