§ Mr. CarterI beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 9, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter 1380 that should have urgent consideration, namely,
the leak of confidential information from the Department of Trade and Industry to outside interests concerned with the Vehicle and General Insurance Company.I shall be brief, because most of what I have to say is already generally known.There is, particularly as a result of what the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has said today, a great deal of disquiet in the country, not only about the affairs of his Department but about motor insurance generally. It will be widely held outside that the Government have mishandled the whole affair. As to motor insurance generally, we must bear in mind that over the past few years over 2 million motorists have lost their cover as a result of the failure of insurance companies. With Vehicle and General over one million policy-holders lost their cover. If we take into account the losses of the small investor we could easily get to a figure of £30 million in losses. This is no small matter. The collapse and the leak, the whole affair, demand the attention of the House and I would ask you, Mr. Speaker, to accede to my request.
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Member asks leave to move the Adjournment of the House for the purpose of discussing an important matter which he thinks should have urgent consideration, namely,
the leak of confidential information from the Department of Trade and Industry to outside interests concerned with the Vehicle and General Insurance Co.I have considered the matter and have heard the exchanges that have taken place today, and listened carefully to what the hon. Gentleman has said. This is a matter for my decision and I have decided that I cannot submit the application to the House.