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Defence Procurement

The hon. Gentleman, who plays such a vigorous role in our debates will be pleased to hear that I shall come to that in a moment. The Minister needs to tell us when we can expect DIS 2. In the other place, his colleague Baroness Bolton told my noble Friend Lord Astor that it was anticipated that DIS 2 would be brought forward, but that no date had been set. We, and British industry, would like to know when that will happen. I am the first to acknowledge that foreign companies such as Thales and Finmeccanica make important contributions to the UK's defence effort—