§ Mr. McWilliamTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what contact Sir Charles Powell had between 1984 and 1991 with civil servants in connection with the Trafalgar House bid for Northern Electric; with whom he was in contact; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Jonathan Evans[holding answer 9 March 1995]: None.
§ Mr. McWilliamTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what contact or communication Ministers or officials in his Department had with Sir Charles Powell as non-executive director of Trafalgar House, in connection with(a) the Trafalgar House bid for Northern Electric and (b) the subsequent decision not to refer the hid to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. Jonathan Evans[holding answer 9 March 1995]: At a meeting on 1 December 1994, Sir Charles Powell advised my right hon. Friend for Energy and Industry of the possibility of Trafalgar House making a bid for Northern Electric and asked whether the Government had any plans for early redemption of the special shares in regional electricity companies.
On 15 December, my right hon. Friend confirmed that the Government would retain their special shares in the RECs until 31 March 1995 and that they would not be redeemed early. In his role as Minister with responsibility for the energy industry, my hon. Friend met Mr. David Morris, chairman of Northern Electric, on 19 January 1995 and Sir Charles Powell, on behalf of Trafalgar House, on 23 January.
At both meetings, and in accordance with our usual procedures, my right hon. Friend made it clear that he could listen only to the companies' views about the bid and could not discuss the bid itself. In addition to these meetings, a number of letters were received from Sir Charles and others on behalf of Trafalgar House, and from Northern Electric and others on behalf of Northern Electric.
Sir Charles also made a number of telephone calls to officials in the office of my right hon. Friend about procedural matters relating to the bid. The content of these calls was not referred to Ministers. My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade was not involved in any of these contacts between Sir Charles and the Department.
§ Mr. McWilliamTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what discussions or communications Mrs. Annabel Keswick, political adviser to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, had with Ministers and civil servants in the Department of Trade and Industry in respect of the Trafalgar House bid for Northern Electric.
§ Mr. Jonathan Evans[holding answer 9 March 1995]: None.
§ Mr. McWilliamTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what account was taken of the recommendations of the Foreign Affairs Committee on its third Session report of Session 1993–94, HC 271, on the Pergau dam relating to Trafalgar House in evaluating that company's bid for Northern Electric;
(2) what evaluation he made of the relationship between Trafalgar House and Jadine Matheson when deciding not to refer the Trafalgar House bid for Northern Electric to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Jonathan Evans[holding answer 9 March 1995]: In making his decision not to refer the bid to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade took account of all relevant factors. His decision was in accordance with the advice of the Director General of Fair Trading.