§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Attorney-General what documents he has received from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe relating to Messenger Newspapers Group Ltd.; what action he will be taking and if he will make a statement.
§ The Attorney-GeneralThe right hon. Member has sent me four documents under cover of a letter entitled "Messenger Newspapers Group Ltd." and dated 21 June 1984. The first of these is a copy of a letter dated 8 March 1984, written on behalf of the Registrar of Companies to an addressee whose name has been blotted out. The letter, which is entitled "Messenger Newspapers Group Limited", refers to the failure of that company to deliver to the Registrar the company's accounts for the periods ending 31 March 1982 and 1983 and to file annual returns for 1979, 1982 and 1983. The second document, marked "Strictly confidential", which is dated 3 May 1983 but which is unsigned and does not refer to any company by 501W name, describes three possible methods of funding an outstanding loan by a company to one of its Directors. The third document is a copy of section 190 of the Companies Act 1948. The fourth document, which is dated 23 February 1981 and entitled "Messenger Newspapers Group Limited" purports to show the state, as shown on balance sheets, of a Director's loan account (the Director being Mr. S. J. Shah) on specified dates during 1980 and 1981.
All the documents relate to matters which are primarily the responsibility of the Department of Trade and Industry and I have copied them to that Department.