§ Mr. PawseyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in the light of the decision to accept the recommendation of the Monopolies and Mergers Commission that on the grounds of the public interest in the United Kingdom, the Kuwait Investment Office should reduce its shareholding in BP to 9.9 per cent., he will explain the factors which led Her Majesty's Government not to take or retain a special strategic share in BP on the most recent occasion when it sold Her Majesty's Government's stake in the company; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Norman Lamont[holding answer 26 October 1988]: It would not have been appropriate to take a special share in BP last year, since it is a longstanding company which has always been in the private sector.