§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Prime Minister (1) what steps he took at the time the Hammond Inquiry was established to ensure that the Cabinet Secretary made public his meetings with the Hinduja brothers. [150835]
(2) if he will make a statement on the meeting between the Cabinet Secretary and the Hinduja brothers in July 1998; [150832]
(3) what criteria are applied to determine whether it is appropriate for the Cabinet Secretary to meet persons external to Government. [150834]
§ The Prime MinisterThe Secretary of the Cabinet met the Hinduja brothers through a speech which he gave about diversity in the Civil Service. He accepted their subsequent invitation to lunch because he was advised that to do so would be beneficial to British commercial interests in India. He was accompanied at the lunch by a private secretary who circulated a note of the discussion afterwards to the Departments concerned. The Secretary of the Cabinet has made no secret of the fact that the lunch took place. Passports were not discussed at the lunch, and nothing about the lunch was relevant to the Inquiry. Sir Anthony Hammond QC has been given full access to the papers in case he wishes to satisfy himself on the point. I am satisfied that the Secretary of the Cabinet acted entirely properly at every stage.
§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list the occasions between 1 January 1989 and 30 April 1997 when senior civil servants met the Hinduja brothers; and if he will make a statement. [150830]
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe) on 31 January 2001,Official Report, column 224W.
§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Prime Minister what factors underlay his decision not to ask the Cabinet Secretary to lead the inquiry into the passport applications by the Hinduja brothers. [150829]
§ The Prime MinisterI asked Sir Anthony Hammond QC to undertake this inquiry because I wanted his independent judgment on the matters covered by his terms of reference. It would not be appropriate to ask the Secretary of the Cabinet to carry out such a full and lengthy investigation.
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§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Prime Minister if(a) he and (b) the Cabinet Secretary (i) have given and (ii) will be giving evidence to the Hammond Inquiry. [150836]
§ The Prime MinisterI refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Lidington) on 29 January 2001,Official Report, column 70W (in reply to questions UIN 147716 and 147717).
§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Prime Minister what independent mechanisms exist to ensure that those with responsibility for the Hammond Inquiry are not in a position to influence the content of the final report in respect of their roles. [150831]
§ The Prime MinisterAs usual with inquiries of this sort, Sir Anthony Hammond QC has complete independence in preparing his final report. I have made it clear that I will publish the report.