§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which papers relating to BSkyB's takeover of Manchester United that were brought to his predecessor's attention and details of the meetings he attended with either BSkyB or Manchester United management will be published. [65643]
§ Mr. Byers[holding answer 14 January 1999]: My predecessor saw relevant papers. The policy of successive Secretaries of State has been not to hold meetings with interested parties on merger cases while matters are under consideration by the Director General of Fair Trading or the Secretary of State. My predecessor did not attend any meetings with either BSkyB or Manchester United management.