§ Mr. Thompsonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make an ex gratia payment to ensure that stonemasons J. & A. Milligan of Reetown, Kirkcudbrightshire, receive full recompense for its work in connection with the manufacture of the United Kingdom's gift to mark the 200th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence.
§ Mr. LuardMessrs. Milligan has an outstanding claim against the main contractor, who has been declared bankrupt. Although we sympathise with it, we believe it would be wrong for the Government to use public funds to settle a claim arising out of a transaction to which they were not a party.