§ 29. Mr. Warbeyasked the Minister of Education, as representing the Minister for Science, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Atomic Energy Authority will in future be able to obtain supplies of essential materials, such as chemicals, on less onerous terms than those referred to in the Comptroller and Auditor General's Report on the authority's balance sheet.
§ Sir D. EcclesI would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Newton (Mr. Lee) of 12th May.
In general, the Authority does not have the same difficulty in obtaining supplies of essential material as it did in the particular case referred to in the Comptroller and Auditor General's Report.
§ Mr. WarbeyCan the right hon. Gentleman give the House the name of the chemical manufacturer which has used its position as a powerful private monopoly to hold the public interest to ransom? Do not the strictures of the Comptroller and Auditor General in this case constitute an overwhelming argument, either for the nationalisation of the manufacture concerned, or for allowing the A.E.A. itself to manufacture its own vital supplies?
§ Sir D. EcclesI cannot accept all that the hon. Member has said—indeed, any of it—but the name of the firm is Imperial Chemical Industries.