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THE PRIME MINISTER
Personal Minute
No. 1150/75
10 DOWNING STREET
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THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEFENCE
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CŃ Kilich M. Magan WID
Statement on Defence Estimates 1975
11
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REGISTRY F6. 1
- 6 MAR 1975
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928
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102
Thank you for your minute MO 21/2/20 of 28 February in
which you drew my attention to the precise wording in the
Public Expenditure White Paper, which stated that figures for the defence budget from 1976-77 onwards were provisional, "pending final Defence Review decisions, after completion of
the process of consultation with the Allies". Subject to any further comment from colleagues, I agree to the interpretation given in your minute and that we should let the text of the
White Paper stand as it is.
Given the pressure of time when this subject was discussed at Cabinet on 27 February, I did not have an opportunity to report, as fully as I would have wished, on the results of
international consultations on the Defence Review as forecast
at the meeting of OPD on 19 February. Since the Defence and
Oversea Policy Committee felt that should report to Cabinet
on these matters, I am copying this minute to all members of
the Cabinet for their information.
Following confidential bilateral discussions with the
Americans and Germans the Cabinet last November reached certain
conclusions on the Defence Review. These conclusions were
provisional in the sense that they were still subject to con-
sultation with NATO and our non-NATO allies: but you outlined
them to the House on 3 December. At the same time we started
the process of consultation.
/Our non-ATO