HC Deb 10 December 2001 vol 376 cc646-7W
Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the action initiated by her predecessor against theDaily Mail in respect of comments made in that newspaper on 19 March; for what reason the action initiated was not pursued to the courts; what assessment was made of the likelihood of a successful outcome to the action before it was embarked upon; and if she will make a statement. [21740]

Ms Hewitt

On 2 April 2001 my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tyneside, North (Mr. Byers), replied to a question from the hon. Member for Lewes as followsI have engaged the solicitors Goodman Derrick to act on my behalf in response to the Daily Mail allegations made on 19 March. These allegations related entirely to my conduct as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. In line with Treasury advice published in response to a Public Accounts Committee Report in 1993 which states "it is appropriate to use public resources to deal with matters arising in the course of, or as a direct result of, the official duties of Ministers and civil servants", the reasonable costs of my present action will be funded publicly. (20 April 2001, Official Report, column 7W).

My right hon. Friend the Member for Tyneside, North subsequently lodged a complaint with the Press Complaints Council on 26 April. The outcome was that the Daily Mail published a clarification on 5 October in which the newspaper accepted that the account given by my right hon. Friend of his involvement in the inquiry into companies associated with Geoffrey Robinson represented the true position.

I have no plans to make a statement.

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was the cost met from public funds of the legal action taken by the previous Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Tyneside, North (Mr. Byers) against Associated Newspapers. [21668]

Ms Hewitt

I refer the right hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Wirral, South (Mr. Chapman) on 19 November 2001,Official Report, column 6W.