§ Mr. HammondTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 7 April 1998, 329W Official Report, column 151, regarding discussions between officials of the British Embassy in Washington and the United States authorities concerning Lloyd's of London, who initiated those discussions; what matters were discussed; who was present on each occasion; what requests were made to the United States authorities by the British representatives present; and what requests were made to the British representatives present by the United States authorities. [44339]
§ Mrs. LiddellThe discussions were initiated by the British Embassy and concerned the case of Richardset al v Lloyd's of London then before the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Only one such meeting took place at which a First Secretary from the Embassy met four Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) attorneys. The Embassy asked the SEC to recognise that any intervention by them in the Richards case should take account both of the British Government's interest in protecting policyholders by insurers continuing to meet their insurance obligations and the regulatory role of Lloyd's in protecting the interests of policyholders. The SEC made no requests to the British Government.