§ Mr. Peacockasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he is now in a position to announce any further progress with the privatisation of Enterprise Oil.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerI am delighted to be able to announce that Mr. Graham Hearne, who is currently managing director of Carless, Capel and Leonard plc, has accepted my invitation to become the chief executive of Enterprise Oil. Mr. Hearne will take up his full-time appointment on 1 March 1984 I would like to express the Government's appreciation for his present company's helpful co-operation in making this possible. I believe that we have made an excellent start to the recruitment of a first rate management for the company. I know that William Bell, the chairman of Enterprise Oil, who participated in the selection of the chief executive, is delighted at Graham Hearne's acceptance of the post, and looks forward to working with him.