HC Deb 20 December 1954 vol 535 c222W
92. Mr. Nally

asked the Minister of Supply the precise circumstances in which a hydraulic press, purchased by private contract for £4,800 in 1951, was subsequently repurchased by his Department for £14,000 in the same year.

Mr. Selwyn Lloyd

This press was bought by the Ministry of Supply for £14,000 in September, 1951. It was immediately available, whereas a new one would have cost £34,000, with a delivery period of from 12 months to two years. The press had been sold by the Ministry of Supply in 1949 at a scrap price at a time when no further need for it was foreseen and there was no other demand for it.