§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list the principal statements, or documents, authorised or made by persons who are, or have been, Ministers of the Crown since 1990, which show that it was the intention of Her Majesty's Government to so privatise the functions of the former British Railways in a manner that made possible(a) the dispersal into separate companies the 44W current responsibilities of Railtrack and (b) that any such company or any other performing any of the functions of the former British Railways Board could be owned or controlled by (i) shareholders a majority of whom were not citizens of the United Kingdom or (ii) a company registered outside the United Kingdom. [8619]
§ The Prime MinisterThe White Paper, "New Opportunities for the Railways", published in July 1992, announced the Government's intention to restructure the railways. Restrictions on the ownership of shares by foreign nationals are tightly controlled by international law and agreements.