§ Mr. Kilfedderasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will give details of the out of court settlement of compensation paid in respect of Mr. Iver Hoppe, former managing director of Harland and Wolff Ltd., specifying the method of payment of this settlement and of the salary that was previously paid to Mr. Hoppe during his employment; and whether he is satisfied that such payments were in accordance with exchange control regulations.
§ Mr. Concannon:The settlement reached with Shipbuilding Services SA, Mr. Hoppe's employers, was within the limits of a trust fund set up at the time of Mr. Hoppe's appointment to compensate him in certain circumstances. The amount in the Trust Fund was about £200,000, a small fraction of the amount claimed by Mr. Hoppe. Mr. Hoppe will have to meet his own costs. Payment was made to the bank account of Shipbuilding Services SA in Switzerland.
Mr. Hoppe's salary was paid by Shipbuilding Services SA, and did not infringe exchange control regulations.