§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many ordinary shares in BP plc are held by the Bank of England on account of Her Majesty's Government following the recent buy-back offer; what proportion of the total they represent; and what plans he has for their disposal.
§ Mr. Norman LamontI refer my hon. Friend to my answers of 14 January at columns 384–5 to the hon. Members for Redcar (Miss Mowlam) and for Easington (Mr. Cummings).
§ Mr. Chris SmithTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what financial consequences there have been for the Exchequer as a result of the rights issue of 459 million BP shares occurring simultaneously with the sale of the Treasury's holding.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe Goverment agreed to subscribe for the issue of BP shares on a fully-paid basis and immediately to sell the shares together with the Government's existing shares. The cost of this subscription (£1.5 billion) was more than offset by the proceeds of the first of three instalments from the combined offer (£2.5 billion).