§ Mr. ButcherTo ask the Attorney-General, pursuant to his reply of 27 November,Official Report, column 97, if he will give his reasons for believing it unnecessary to conduct a review of the possibilities of prejudice to a criminal trial of individuals named in a Companies Act investigation when those individuals are, in advance of their trial, publicly disciplined by a self-regulatory organisation established under the Financial Services Act.
§ The Attorney-GeneralSelf-regulating organisations recognised under the Financial Services Act are responsible for exercising their own discipline over those who have agreed to be bound by their rules, so as to ensure that their members are fit and proper to conduct investment business. Such organisations are also subject to the general duty at common law to refrain from acts which raise a real likelihood of interference with the administration of justice. I am satisfied that these obligations are well known and understood by those affected and have no reason to doubt that care is taken to strike the right balance according to the circumstances of particular cases.