§ Mr. Millanasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he has had with British Shipbuilders over the refusal of its auditors to certify that its accounts for 1983–84 give a true and fair view of the corporation's financial position; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Norman LamontNone. British Shipbuilders' (BS) auditors have made clear that they were unable to express an opinion as to whether British Shipbuilders' 1983–84 accounts gave a true and fair view because there was an exceptionally high degree of uncertainty about those aspects of the accounts which related to Scott Lithgow. They have also made it clear that they are satisfied that the accounts were the best that could have beendrawn up in the circumstances without considerable delay and that their qualification reflected unavoidable uncertainty as to the final outturn rather than disagreement with the accounts.