§ Mr. Michael Spicerasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the Government's position in respect of the purchase in 1975 by the Bank of England of the Burmah Oil Company's British Petroleum shareholding.
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweThe Burmah Oil Company Limited has instituted legal proceedings against the Bank of England for relief in respect of this sale. The Government do not consider it proper to intervene between the two parties to this action and we believe that the legal processes should be allowed to run their course in the normal way.
I am, however, aware from representations which have been made to me that there may be some misunderstanding about the role of the Attorney-General in connection with an interlocutory matter which arose from these proceedings. I am advised that as part of his normal duties as a Law Officer my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General intervened in Burmah's claim for the production of certain documents in order to protect on recognised legal grounds documents of certain classes, the production of which would as a general principle be contrary to the public interest. That was a quite separate and distinct matter from the main action between the two parties.