§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Secretary of State for Trade whether he is satisfied with the circumstances surrounding the liquidation of Textured Fibres Ltd., formerly trading on the Solway industrial estate, Maryport; and if he will investigate under the Companies Act the disposals made by that company prior to the liquidation.
§ Mr. Eyre:I take it that the company to which the hon. Member refers is Textured Fibres (Cumberland) Limited, which went into creditors voluntary liquidation on 11 December 1979. Mr. A. W. Wainwright of 32 High Street, Manchester M4 1QD is the voluntary liquidator of the company and he is responsible for the conduct of the liquida- 38W tion and the realisation and distribution of assets, including investigation into "the disposals made by the company prior to the liquidation".
The liquidator is required under the provisions of section 334(2) of the Companies Act 1948 to report to the Director of Public Prosecutions if it appears to him that any past or present officer, or any member of the company, has been guilty of any offence in relation to the company for which he is criminally liable. He has indicated that at present he has discovered no grounds for so doing. I am not aware that there are any grounds on which the Department should invoke its investigatory powers under the Companies Acts.