§ 33. Dr. Gilbertasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will order an inquiry into transactions in the shares of an advertising company, whose name has been supplied to him, since 1st February, 1971.
§ Sir J. EdenOn the information available I do not consider that there is good reason for making such an inquiry.
§ Dr. GilbertWould the hon. Gentleman not agree that this case has caused considerable public concern? There have been two other cases involving City dealings on the Stock Exchange in recent weeks that equally caused public concern. Is it not high time that the toothless watchdog, the Takeover Panel, was replaced by an official body with adequate powers and staff?
§ Sir J. EdenNo, Sir. If we had thought that there was good reason to do as requested in the question we could have used the powers under Section 109 of the Companies Act, 1967. The question of consistency with the City code on takeovers and mergers is for the City panel.