§ 2. Mr. Emrys Hughesasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation what was the cost of the recent inquiry into the loss of the Dutch air liner at Prestwick.
§ Mr. LindgrenThe total cost to the Exchequer was approximately £3,400.
§ Mr. HughesCould my hon. Friend say how much of this £3,400 was spent on legal fees, and give details?
§ Mr. LindgrenRoughly, £1,000 was for the transcript of the evidence and £2,000 was for lawyers' fees.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydIf two-thirds of the money was spent on lawyers' fees why was not the legal conclusion of the inquiry accepted?
§ Mr. LindgrenIt only shows the effectiveness of the lawyers' trade union.
§ Mr. RankinCould my hon. Friend say whether the £3,400 covers the 10 days that the inquiry lasted, or the time involved in preparing the report? Further, how many lawyers were paid out of this money?
§ Mr. LindgrenI could not answer the last part of my hon. Friend's supplementary without notice, but the President of the court received 20 guineas a day while the court was sitting and 20 guineas for his report.
§ Lieut.-Colonel Sir Thomas MooreMay I ask a more appropriate question? What was the cost of the prestige lost by the Government through their inept handling of this report?
§ Mr. SpeakerThat is a different question altogether.