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Tell us the jet fighter's secrets, demands MP
Defence bosses have been warned that it would "go down very badly" with people in Lancashire if the US keeps them in the dark about the design secrets of a new state of the art fighter jet.
David Borrow, MP for Ribble South, joined fellow MPs to call for the US to give Britain access to technical information on the building of the Joint Strike Fighter.
The jet is being built as a joint project involving the US and the UK – but the main part of the planes are being made in Texas and the tail section in Britain, at BAE's Samlesbury plant.
Britain has the technical codes for making the tail section, but it wants all the information to allow it to carry out its own repair and maintenance which would keep the country at the cutting edge of the defence industry.
If Britain gets the technical codes, the main repair and maintenance plant could be built in Lancashire after a consultancy company highlighted the site as a good bet.
Mr Borrow questioned representatives from the MOD, BAE and the American contractors Lockheed Martin at a meeting of the Commons defence committee.
He said: "A decision hasn't been made as to how as to how much will be available in the UK and whether it will be with a UK company or whether it will remain with a US company contracted through the UK.
"My observation is that it would go down very badly with those constituents of mine who work for BAE if that technology remains with a US company."
Commodore Simon Henley, from the Ministry of Defence, who is working on the project with the Americans and BAE, said: "I do not think that anybody would say we are going soft or being soft.
"On this approach we have been extremely aggressive."
He said that all the information requested so far had been given, but MPs said they were more bothered about future information sharing.
The sharing of information is being blocked by politicians in the US who fear that future jobs on the project could be taken away from their constituents.
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Thursday 09 February 2012
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