HC Deb 15 November 1939 vol 353 cc712-3
61. Mr. Stokes

asked the Minister of Supply which of the Nuffield subsidiaries has undertaken sub-contracts for the supply of Bofors gun-mountings at prices varying from £220 to £190?

Mr. Burgin

The firm to which the hon. Member presumably alludes is not a Nuffield subsidiary. I am not willing to publish the name, but I have no objection to giving it to the hon. Member in confidence.

Mr. Stokes

Will the Minister explain how he reconciles his statement to-day with his statement on 24th October, when he said that the Nuffield Company made a large number of these gun mountings through a sub-contractor. Surely that implies that sub-contractor "A" is a subsidiary of the Nuffield Company?

Mr. Burgin

It does not imply anything of the kind. The Nuffield subsidiary is the agency firm which looks after the factory. Sub-contractor "A," to whom the hon. Member is presumably referring, is not a Nuffield subsidiary or related to them in any way.