§ 21. Mr. Darlingasked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the judgment in the House of Lords in the case of Bridge v. Campbell Discount Co. Ltd., he will introduce legislation to amend the Hire Purchase Acts in order to remove the legal anomaly referred to in the judgment.
§ Mr. ErrollI am studying the implications of this judgment and will certainly take it into account when I consider the Report of the Molony Committee on Consumer Protection which I hope to receive shortly.
§ Mr. DarlingDoes the President of the Board of Trade agree that this is a very urgent matter which ought not to be left to the Molony Committee's recommendations, which may not be put into effect for a considerable time? Does he realise that the effect of this judgment is to suggest to hirers who cannot for good reasons, keep up their payments that they ought to default and break their contracts in order to avoid the penal provisions of the law, which Parliament never intended should be penal?
§ Mr. ErrollThis is certainly a very important matter, and for that reason the Government are not going to be rushed into making a premature decision.