HC Deb 19 December 1979 vol 976 cc609-11
7. Mr. James White

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the findings of his investigation into the source of the press leak from his office regarding his decision not to reappoint Sir William Gray as chairman of the Scottish Development Agency.

14. Mr. McKelvey

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the findings of his investigation into the source of the press leak from his office regarding his decision not to reappoint Sir William Gray as chairman of the Scottish Development Agency.

Mr. Younger

I have already made clear that there is no evidence to suggest how the decision not to reappoint Sir William Gray as chairman of the Scottish Development Agency became known to the press in advance of my announcement on Monday 3 December. I am, however, satisfied that my office was not involved.

Mr. White

Will the Secretary of State tell the House whether he is really satisfied with that answer? It was a distasteful position for Sir William Gray to find himself in and I hope that the Secretary of State has written a letter of apology to him.

Mr. Younger

I have written to Sir William to thank him for the work that he has done for the SDA. I am satisfied that my office was not involved in the leak. I was interested to see that the press report made that fact clear.

Mr. McKelvey rose

Mr. Lang

Does my right hon. Friend accept that the appointment of Sir William Gray's successor, Mr. Robin Duthie, will be widely welcomed throughout Scotland, and beyond? Not only is he an extremely successful businessman operating in Scotland, but he is a man without political affiliations.

Mr. Younger

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I have no doubt that the general welcome for the appointment of Mr. Duthie will assist the SDA in carrying out an excellent job in the future.

Mr. McKelvey rose

Mr.. Speaker

I should have called the hon. Member for Kilmarnock (Mr. McKelvey), and I do so now.

Mr. McKelvey

I find the Secretary of State's answer most disappointing, and I feel that he should have discovered where the leak came from. Nevertheless, will he assure the House that he is not contemplating any more politically motivated dismissals or redundancies in Scotland? If he is contemplating such matters, will he name the people involved?

Mr. Younger

There was no political motivation in the change. I am enjoined by the Act to make an appointment to the chairmanship of the SDA. The previous chairman's appointment had run out and I appointed the best man that I could find for the job. I am convinced that I achieved that.

Mr. John MacKay

Despite the gnashing of teeth on the Labour Benches, does my right hon. Friend remember that the Labour Party would not find a seat for Sir William Gray on Strathclyde regional council at the time of the reorganisation? Will he hazard a guess at how many rejection slips Sir William has received from his so-called Labour Party friends?

Mr. Foulkes

Not as many as Teddy Taylor!

Mr. Younger

I am glad that my responsibilities do not extend to investigating the reasons why the Labour Party withdraws its support from certain Labour members. No doubt Labour members are able to answer that point better than I.

Mr. Millan

While I have every respect for the abilities of Mr. Duthie and wish him well in his new appointment, I feel that the way in which Sir William was dismissed at short notice, in conjunction with the press leak, has left a nasty taste. Will the right hon. Gentleman at least apologise for that?

Mr. Younger

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his welcome to Mr. Duthie. It is unfortunate that the leak took place, because it gives the impression that Sir William had not done a satisfactory job. Let me state clearly that I am most grateful to him for doing an excellent job in that position for the four years that he was in office. His term of office came to an end and it was up to me to make an appointment, and I did so.

Mr. Russell Johnston

Knowing that all this has absolutely nothing to do with politics, will the right hon. Gentleman recall his remark of a few moments ago to the effect that the Scottish Development Agency welcomed the new guidelines and, indeed, thought that they were an improvement? What would he have done if the SDA had not welcomed those guidelines?

Mr. Younger

I should have told the House. I am glad to see that the hon. Gentleman thought that this was nothing to do with politics. At times I thought that he thought that he had nothing to do with politics either.

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