§ Ms Dari TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about steps to reclaim moneys from the companies involved in the payment of commissions to Mr. Gordon Foxley relating to defence contracts. [24113]
§ Mr. SpellarOn 10 December 1997,Official Report, column 553, I announced that normal commercial relations were to be resumed with the second of the three companies involved in the Foxley case, Junghans GmbH of Germany. I am now pleased to announce that a satisfactory settlement has been reached with the final company implicated in this affair, Simmel Difesa Spa who are acting on behalf of the successors to Fratelli Borletti Spa, under which the company will pay an agreed sum in redress to my Department, including interest and a contribution to costs, for payments made contrary to contractual conditions. A statement of contrition by the company, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House, forms part of the agreement with the Ministry of Defence. This settlement provides for normal commercial relations to continue between Simmel and the Ministry of Defence.