§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Prime Minister what information was made available to or from the DTI to or from Mr. Stephen Hatch in the course of the DTI inquiry into the affairs of Astra on commission payments for defence contracts paid to intermediaries [38550]
§ The Prime MinisterThe Companies Act inspection into the affairs of Astra Holdings plc was concerned with the acquisition by Astra of a number of subsidiaries, and with accounting issues arising therefrom. It was not concerned with commission payments for defence contracts.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Prime Minister (1) on what dates Mr. Stephen Kock met DTI officials to discuss matters relating to the supply of equipment to Iraq between 1985 and 1990;[38545]
(2) on what date the appointment of Mr. Stephen Kock to the Board of Astra was first discussed by DTI officials. [38547]
§ The Prime MinisterA search of the potentially most relevant sources of information held by DTI has produced no evidence to suggest either that Mr. Stephen Kock discussed matters relating to the supply of equipment to Iraq between 1985 and 1990 with DTI or that discussions were held within the DTI about his appointment to the board of Astra. Indeed, the appointment of individual directors to a private sector company is not an issue with which the DTI would normally concern itself.