CAB148-30-Defence and Oversea Policy Committee Meetings Relating to 1967 Disturbances-1967 — Page 278

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3.

POSSIBLE SALE OF A VAN DE GRAAFF ACCELERATOR TO SOUTH AFRICA

The Committee had before them a note by the Secretaries (OPD (67) 74) covering a minute by the Minister of Technology about the

possible sale of a Van de Graaff accelerator to South Africa.

THE MINISTER OF TECHNOLOGY said that the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (AEA) had received an approach through Vickers for the sale of a

Van de Graaff accelerator to the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa. The accelerator was a recognised (research) standard tool which

would be used by the South Africans for academic high energy physics;

it had no more direct connection with atomic weapons than many other pieces

of standard laboratory equipment. It was not required for current

programmes in the United Kingdom. Two special features of the machine, including a tritium source which was the only part of the equipment related specifically to weapons technology, would not be included in the sale. Such equipment was not subject to export licence control and the South

Africans would probably not have any difficulty in getting a machine from

either the United States or Japan. But since this particular machine had been built for work at the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE)

connected with the weapons programme, there might be an implication in the

public mind that we were assisting South Africa towards nuclear weapons

production. Before agreeing to the sale he therefore wished to consult

his colleagues.

In discussion there was general agreement that there was no objection

to the proposed sale except for the risk of public criticism arising from

the sale to South Africa of a machine from the AWRE. It was suggested that

this difficulty might be met if the accelerator were sold by the United

Kingdom AEA to Vickers and then by them to South Africa.

But it was

pointed out that a previous proposal, which had fallen through, to sell the

same accelerator to the United States had been criticised in the Press at

the time.

THE PRIME MINISTER, summing up the discussion, said that the Committee were agreed that there was no objection to the proposed sale; the Foreign

Secretary who would be returning to London later that week and who had had discussions with the South African Minister for Foreign Affairs during his

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