§ Mr. William Hamiltonasked the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will state in detail the reasons for not publishing the report into the Cadco affair;
(2) why the report on the Cadco affair has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions and to the Lord Advocate;
(3) to which organs of the Press he has given access to the report of the inquiry into the Cadco affair; and why such access has been denied to the honourable Member for West Fife;
(4) what administrative action he has taken to ensure that there will be no repetition of failures like that of Cadco in Glenrothes.
§ Mr. JayThe report of the inspectors appointed by the Board of Trade to investigate the affairs of three companies in the "Cadco group" was referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Lord Advocate by the Board as required by Section 169(1) of the Companies Act, 1948, since it appeared to the Board from the report that persons84W had been guilty of offences in England and Scotland for which they were criminally liable. Further inquiries into these possible offences are being made and it would not be right to prejudice any possible proceedings by publishing the report at this time.
I have not given access to the report to any organs of the Press or to any persons outside Government Departments concerned except those to whom the Board of Trade are required by Section 168(2) of the Companies Act, 1948, to forward copies.
I have taken no administrative action, other than that mentioned above, as a consequence of receiving the report. If it is my hon. Friend's suggestion that the failure of Cadco was in any way due to my Department, then I must emphatically repudiate it. The full story will be made known when the time comes to publish the report.