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Tenders are to be invited for new Government aircraft, the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, revealed yesterday.

He said the process was nearing completion and it was expected that the requisite notices would be issued to the Official Journal of the European Communities later this week. "The Government has decided to replace the Gulfstream 1V and the Beechcraft King Air in the ministerial air transport role. The decision was necessary to meet the ever-increasing demands of Government business, not least in the context of a significantly enlarged European Union."