§ Q3. Mr. Lawsonasked the Prime Minister what progress he has made since 14th October 1975 with the preparation of his evidence for the Royal Commission on the Press.
§ The Prime MinisterI hope to be able to present the evidence to the Royal Commission in the very near future, Sir.
§ Mr. LawsonI am grateful that the right hon. Gentleman has been able to write to me conceding the errors that he made last week. How is it that his evidence to the Royal Commission on the Press has been delayed by legal action that he is taking as a private citizen, bearing in mind the Downing Street statement of, I think, 14th October, that no journalists were involved in any way in any of the eight burglaries? What has this to do with the Royal Commission on the Press? Has he withdrawn his writ against the Daily Mail, and, if so, how many more of his writs are still outstanding?
§ The Prime MinisterThe hon. Member, who, as he knows, I always thought of as one of the brightest City editors—I am sorry that he has fallen away so much recently—has referred to the letter that I have written to him, in which I said that on different publications there were different figures of a few millions—although he was wrong by a few thousand millions, and, on his own figures, what I said in the House last week is substantiated. As for the Royal Commission, as I say, I hope to present my evidence in the very near future.
On the question of legal proceedings—they have nothing to do with burglaries; they would be criminal proceedings if those concerned were found—there is no change from the position that I reported to the House on 14th October in relation to legal proceedings about matters which 1136 must form part of the evidence justifying the statement that I made a year ago.