§ Q5. Mr. Bob Dunnasked the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 15 January.
§ The Prime MinisterIn addition to my duties in this House I shall be having meetings with ministerial colleagues and others.
§ Mr. DunnWill my right hon. Friend take an opportunity to praise the amateur Olympic athletes who train in this country, often under the most horrific conditions? Does she not agree that the amateur status of the Olympic Games has been brought into disrepute in recent years by full-time professionals from the Eastern bloc? Is it not time that the International Olympic Committee revised the terms of reference of the Olympic Games?
§ The Prime MinisterIt would be a rash person who became involved in the 1431 amateur/professional status of athletes. I am sure that my hon. Friend's words will not have gone unheard by the International Olympic Committee.
§ Mr. FootI return to the reply which the Prime Minister gave to an earlier question about the steel strike. How long does she propose to continue to recite to the country the figures which have been given by the British Steel Corporation and to refuse to have a single meeting with the leaders of the trade unions to hear their side of the case? How much does she think that is costing the country and British industry each year? How long must we tolerate her obstinacy on this subject?
§ The Prime MinisterMost of the figures come from the report from the sector working party on iron and steel which was published yesterday and which was signed by the trade union leaders. There are many tables in that document which show the comparative productivity of our steel industry as against other steel industries. The document was signed by both employers and unions.
§ Mr. FootIf the right hon. Lady is so confident that those figures are correct—she quoted other figures when she appeared on television a few days ago—why is she so afraid to meet the trade union leaders?
§ The Prime MinisterI am not afraid to meet either the leaders of the trade union movement or leaders of any movement, as the right hon. Gentleman knows. If he cannot ask a better question than that, I do not know why he bothers.
§ Mr. FootIn that case, will the Prime Minister announce to the House and to the country when she will meet the trade unions to hear the very figures of which she and her Secretary of State have so far refused to take any account?
§ The Prime MinisterUnlike the right hon. Member for Ebbw Vale (Mr. Foot), I assume that the trade union leaders are able to speak for themselves.