§ Barbara FollettTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Treasury's residual holding of British Telecom plc shares. [129190]
§ Mr. Andrew SmithOn 27 June 2000, the Treasury sold 11,096,309 ordinary shares in British Telecom plc which it had held following earlier share sales. The shares were sold, via a competitive auction conducted by ABN AMRO Rothschild on the Treasury's behalf, to Schroder94W Salomon Smith Barney at a price of £9.25¼ per share, generating total proceeds of £102.7 million. The Treasury now retains only a very small number of shares to meet any future appeals for bonus shares arising from the BT2 and BT3 flotations.