§ Mr. Lewisasked the Minister of Economic Warfare whether his Depart- 1518W ment exercises any control over the trading operations of such concerns as the Mercantile Overseas Trust, with a view to ensuring that their connections in America and elsewhere with traders of German origin are not used to facilitate German trade through neutral countries?
§ Mr. DaltonThe controls exercised by my Department with a view to obstructing enemy trading and financial operations are applied as much to the foreign connections of United Kingdom companies, as to purely foreign concerns. The Ministry of Economic Warfare does not, however, exercise any special supervision over United Kingdom companies. If any such company comes under suspicion of having any commercial, financial or other dealings with or for the benefit of the enemy, either directly or through intermediaries, investigations are made by the Trading with the Enemy Branch of the Treasury and the Board of Trade, to which other Departments supply any relevant information in their possession. If the hon. Member has any such information, perhaps he will be good enough to communicate it either to the Trading with the Enemy Branch or to me.