§ Mr. HainTo ask the Attorney-General what documents were given by the Law Officers' Departments to HM Customs and Excise before it prosecuted Matrix Churchill; on what dates the documents were given; what was the source of any such documents provided; and if he will make a statement.
The Attorney-GeneralOn 3 December 1990 Sir Hal Miller, then my hon. Friend the Member for Bromsgrove, wrote to me enclosing documents supplied to him byThe Sunday Times about the affairs of Matrix Churchill. The company was then the subject of a continuing investigation by HM Customs and Excise to which the documents were forwarded on the 4 December 1990 in accordance with the usual arrangements for transfer of correspondence.
Inquiries have been made in all the Law Officers' Departments, but no further documents have been located which were received and passed to HM Customs and Excise prior to the institution of proceedings relating to Matrix Churchill.