§ Sir Charles MorrisonTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) pursuant to his answer of 7 March,Official Report, column 480, why his Department did not undertake an investigation into the affairs of Selective Investment Brokers Ltd. in December 1986, or earlier following letters to the company from Companies house, Cardiff, in 1984 and 1985 attempting to obtain information regarding the company's trading status;
(2) what action was taken by his Department to initiate an investigation into the affairs of Selective Investment Brokers Ltd., using powers under section 447 of the 1985 Companies Act, or any other relevant powers, following the submission of the Wiltshire constabulary to the Director of Public Prosecutions and his opinion that the report did not disclose sufficient evidence to justify criminal proceedings; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Maude[holding answer 6 June 1989]: The purpose of the letters sent out by Companies house to Selective Investment Brokers Ltd. was to discover whether it was trading and whether dissolution action against it should be taken. Many such letters are sent out routinely every year. They do not in themselves indicate that investigations of the companies to which they are addressed are merited.
In December 1986 my Department received a complaint made on behalf of an investor in the company. The Bank of England was informed of this complaint in January 1987. Subsequently, there was liaison between the DTI, the Bank of England, and the Wiltshire police who made inquiries. A report was submitted by the police to the Director of Public Prosecutions who concluded that the evidence was insufficient to warrant a criminal investigation. The DPP did not refer the matter to my Department which did not receive any further information from any source concerning the company until after it was placed in voluntary liquidation in June 1988.