§ Mr. Cohenasked the Prime Minister, pursuant to the answer of 25 February, Official Report, column 484, concerning fraud investigation, what progress has been made in the four cases referred to; if she is now aware of any further cases of fraud which have been hindered by difficulties in obtaining evidence; and if she will make a statement.
§ The Prime MinisterI am informed that progress has been made in two of the four cases referred to in my answer of 25 February,Official Report, column 484. One person has been charged and is awaiting committal in one of the cases, and one person has been committed for trial in the other case.
I have now been informed of two further cases involving public money, in which problems of obtaining evidence in other jurisdictions were experienced. Satisfactory evidence has now been obtained with the result that a total of five people have been charged and committed for trial since the beginning of this year.