Written question asked by Julian Lewis (Conservative) on Tuesday, 22 November 2016, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 29 November 2016 (named day). It was answered by Harriett Baldwin (Conservative) on Tuesday, 29 November 2016 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

HMS Illustrious

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the contract with the Turkish company to scrap the aircraft carrier Illustrious makes provision for that contract to be set aside if a viable bid is made to preserve it for the nation.

Answer: While the Disposal Service Authority Notice of Sale for the recycling contract did include a statement that 'The issue of this notice is not a commitment by the Secretary of State of Defence … to commit to a sale as a result of this notice and this process may be discontinued at any time should a … heritage option be forthcoming.', this statement only related to the process of selling the vessel, which was completed when the contract was awarded in August 2016. No heritage bids were received in response to the Notice of Sale.

Secondary information