§ Mr. KnapmanTo ask the Attorney-General, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Southend, East (Mr. Taylor) of 26 June,Official Report, columns 141–42, if he will make a further statement on the juridical implications of Factortame, in the light of the decision of the House of Lords.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe Factortame case was reinstated in the House of Lords on 2 July and the hearing concluded on 9 July. It has been indicated that the House of Lords has decided in principle to grant interim relief in favour of the applicants to the effect that the Secretary of State for Transport should not withhold registration in respect of any fishing vessel if the owner is an "original applicant" for interim relief who is disentitled to registration under section 14 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 by reason only of a failure to meet the conditions requiring directors and shareholders of owning companies to be resident and domiciled in the United Kingdom. It would be inappropriate to comment further on the House of Lords' decision until it has determined the form of its order and it has given its fully reasoned judgment.