§ Mr. Wareingasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will explain the circumstances which led to the rescue by the Bank of England of Johnson Matthey Bankers; if he plans to seek to tighten controls over the merchant banking system; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LawsonOn the hon. Member's first and third points, I refer to the reply I gave the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) on 23 October. On the hon. Member's second point, the Bank of England is of course considering what lessons the failure of Johnson Matthey Bankers may have for the banking supervision system for which the bank is responsible under the Banking Act 1979. If it appears that changes to the statutory framework for banking supervision may be needed, I will give this very careful consideration.