HC Deb 09 March 1960 vol 619 cc410-1
24. Mr. Dodds

asked the Secretary of State for Air under what circumstances three tons of metal fittings were sold to Mr. Abraham Solomons; by whom the decision was made to dispose of them; what was the total purchase price of the fittings to his Department; how much was obtained for them at the auction; for what reason Mr. Solomons has been requested to return the fittings; and what was the offer made in this respect.

27. Mr. de Freitas

asked the Secretary of State for Air why the automatic gun parts sold to Mr. Abraham Solomons at the Royal Air Force station, Hantlebury, were not mutilated before sale; and whether he will make a statement.

Mr. Ward

These were automatic gun parts for which we had no further use; they were cleared for disposal through the normal inter-departmental machinery. They were bought during the war at a cost of about £40,000. They were sold in 1957 by auction as scrap for £26.

As I told the House last week, we heard that the police were objecting to Mr. Solomons re-selling the goods as firearms, and we thought it fair to offer to buy them back; our final offer was £60.

We have always mutilated complete weapons before disposal, but when the auction took place in 1957 we did not mutilate spare parts. We now ensure that they, too, are either mutilated or melted down by authorised firms on disposal.

Mr. Dodds

Is the right hon. Gentleman stating that although they were in the wrappings in which they had been sent by the manufacturers, they were of no further use? Were they over-ordered? Has any investigation been made into this great loss of money? If Mr. Solomons hands them back to be mutilated, will he get them back again after they have been mutilated, or does the Department want them as souvenirs of a more prosperous era?

Mr. Ward

These parts were surplus to our requirements and were perfectly properly offered for sale as scrap. The procedure for disposal of this sort of equipment is to offer it first to any official customer who may have a use for it, and to the War Office, which is also in touch with other potential buyers. Not until these offers have been exhausted do we sell equipment as scrap.

Mr. de Freltas

What do the Air Ministry intend to do to help Mr. Solomons, who is threatened with prosecution for possessing large quantities of firearms without a licence when it was the Air Ministry which sold them to him?

Mr. Ward

Certainly it was, but we offered to buy them back and he refused our offer. What happens next is entirely a matter for Mr. Solomons.