Letter from Quentin Davies MP, Minister
for Defence Equipment and Support
At the end of this morning's session of the
Committee, Admiral Lambert surprised the Committee—and indeed
myself—by suggesting that there might be a gap in our Carrier
Strike capability before the entry into service of HMS Queen Elizabeth.
I am now formally writing to you to let you
know that Admiral Lambert has discovered that there was an error
in the paper that he saw yesterday and which prompted his remark,
which was made in good faith and conscientiously in order to ensure
that he concealed nothing from the Committee.
In fact studies have revealed that there could
be an insufficient number of all-weather pilots trained to fly
the JSF as the moment of transition, but having identified this
risk we shall be taking steps to mitigate it.
I would be grateful if you would transmit this
to other members of the Committee. In order to avoid any public
confusion on the point I am releasing this letter to the press.
15 December 2009
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