§ 23. Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received from or on behalf of shareholders of the North British Locomotive Company concerning their claim for compensation; what reply he has sent; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. JayA number of hon. Members have brought this matter to my attention. I do not accept the shareholders' claim to compensation from the Government, and I have replied accordingly.
§ Mr. Biggs-DavisonWhile that is a rather, though not unexpectedly, disappointing reply from the right hon. Gentleman, may I ask whether he is aware that representatives of the shareholders, supported by hon. Members of all the three parties, would be very glad of an opportunity of putting new aspects of the matter to him, and would he kindly receive a deputation?
§ Mr. JayI will, of course, look at anything they have to say. In this case, the last Government very rightly made a fixed-interest loan to this company, and I think that as equity shareholders get higher dividends and capital gains when things go right, they should be prepared to stand the loss when things go wrong.