§ 47. Mr. Buchananasked the Lord Advocate if he is now in a position to indicate the cost to the taxpayer of the Rotary Tools trial at Glasgow which terminated on 6th June 1976.
§ The Lord AdvocateThe defence costs are not yet known to the Law Society. I am therefore unable to add to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend and the hon. Member for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Taylor) on 30th June 1976.
§ Mr. BuchananWill my right hon. and learned Friend try to do something about settling this account? The trial finished in 1976 and it is testing our credulity to expect us to believe that he cannot finalise the accounts by this time. Surely the defence and the prosecution know what the trial cost the taxpayer. If they do not know, they should.
§ The Lord AdvocateI can only say to my hon. Friend that no public body can come into the reckoning until the firm concerned has submitted accounts.