I appreciate the remarks the hon. Gentleman has made. I have referred to the report he mentioned, although I have not gone through it in detail. I agree to some extent with what he said, but I think, per contra, there is a point that we should not overlook—that if we have too much secrecy about the operating costs and similar statistics we shall blind ourselves to the chief requirements of the new types of civil aircraft. This will apply just as much to the new designs such as turbine jet aircraft as to existing designs. We must have adequate statistics, for example, to ensure that the operating costs of jet aircraft justify their use.

I should like to make some reference to the Avro Tudor. That is an aircraft on which we did pin a good deal of faith. We did put all our eggs, so to speak, in one basket. On the other hand, we know quite well that one of the greatest strides made in civil aviation development in this country before the war, was when Imperial Airways, as it was then, placed all their confidence in the purchase of the Empire flying boats. They even placed an order for a fleet of flying boats straight off the drawing board, without waiting for prototypes. It was a bold but successful action. So we cannot altogether say that there has been a mistake in putting faith in the Avro Tudors, especially as the military original of the types was known and proved. The right hon. Gentleman the Minister of Supply apparently indicates that we have not got all our eggs in one basket. I know that there are other aircraft developing, but they are not quite in the same category. The Tudor I and Tudor II were intended to serve on the Atlantic route immediately, and on the Empire routes immediately—or shortly after the war anyway. To that extent, I think, we did place too much reliance on those two designs. They, in a large measure, failed.