§ Lord Spensasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are aware that the conclusions of the Report and Recommendations of the 1988 Licensed Dealers Tribunal in the matter of TWH Management Ltd and in the matter of the Prevention of Fraud (Investments) Act 1958 included (inter alia) the following:
There is no evidence that such transactions were improper. We have found that such transactions were not required to be disclosed by the Code",and, if they were aware of these conclusions, why they were not published in 1988 and why these conclusions where withheld from the defence teams in the Guinness trials until January 1992.
The Minister of State, Department of Transport (The Earl of Caithness)Her Majesty's Government were aware of these conclusions but, as I explained in my Answer of 11th March(Official Report, WA 65), it was not the practice to publish tribunal reports under the PF(I) Act, which has now been repealed. The question did not arise therefore.
Questions of disclosure in the Guinness trials were the responsibility of the Serious Fraud Office as the prosecuting authority. I understand that the Director of the SFO is satisfied that his office, at all stages, properly discharged its obligations of disclosure.