§ Mr. Leeasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the viability of the secondary banks subject to the City rescue operation of 1973–74.
§ Mr. DellThe support operation has been successful in its primary objective of preserving confidence in the banking system generally. Depositors with the companies that have been assisted have been protected from loss. The details of the operation are a matter for the Bank of England and the clearing banks, on the one hand, and the companies assisted, on the other. I do not think that it would be in the public interest to comment on the position of individual companies.