HC Deb 11 March 2003 vol 401 cc162-4W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will appoint inspectors to investigate the accounting and audit failures at(a) My Travel, (b) RBG Resources and (c) Slug and Lettuce.[100744]

Miss Melanie Johnson

If my hon. Friend will send me any evidence in support of his requests to appoint inspectors to My Travel Group Plc and SFI Group Plc and its subsidiary, the Slug and Lettuce Group Ltd., I will consider it.

The Serious Fraud Office announced in May 2002 that it is investigating RBG Resources plc. This Department would not normally duplicate those inquiries.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will initiate an investigation into accounting failures at Amey. [100754]

Miss Melanie Johnson

If my hon. Friend will send me any evidence in support of his request to appoint inspectors, I will consider it.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will appoint inspectors to investigate accounting irregularities acknowledged by Cable and Wireless. [100954]

Miss Melanie Johnson

If my hon. Friend will send me any evidence in support of his request to appoint inspectors, I will consider it.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when DTI inspectors were appointed to investigate the affairs of Queens Moat Houses; when the report was published; what the report cost; and what regulatory action was taken against the auditors. [100829]

Miss Melanie Johnson

Inspectors were appointed to investigate the affairs of Queens Moat Houses plc (QMH) under section 432(2) of the Companies Act 1985 on 12 November 1993. The inspectors submitted a report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State under section 177 of the Financial Services Act 1986 on 30 September 1997. Such reports are not published and are subject to severe disclosure restrictions. Following submission of the section 177 report, on 12 June 1998, the Accountants' Joint Disciplinary Scheme (JDS) announced an investigation. Following JDS tribunals, three former QMH directors have been excluded from the ICAEW:

Maurice Hard, a former partner in QMH's former auditors, Bird Luckin and a non-executive director of QMH

David Hersey, former finance director

Allan Porter, former deputy finance director.

The JDS has announced that tribunals as regards Bird Luckin, and a partner in Bird Luckin, Alan Radford FCA are to be convened. Martin Marcus, former deputy chairman of QMH, has appealed against the JDS tribunal decision as regards him.

Additionally, proceedings have been brought on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State under section 8 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. These have resulted in disqualification orders of 8 and 7 years respectively being made in July 2000 against David Hersey and Allan Porter and an undertaking not to act as a director for a period of 10 years being given by Martin Marcus in December 2001. Defended disqualification proceedings against John Bairstow, the former chairman of QMH, continue.

It is expected that the inspectors will submit their final report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in the near future. The cost of the investigation to 1 December 2002 was £7.3 million.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will appoint inspectors to investigate the accounting errors at RBG Resources.[100955]

Miss Melanie Johnson

If my hon. Friend will send me any evidence in support of his requests to appoint inspectors to My Travel Group Plc and SFI Group Plc and its subsidiary, the Slug and Lettuce Group Limited, I will consider it.

The Serious Fraud Office announced in May 2002 that it is investigating RBG Resources Plc. This Department would not normally duplicate those enquiries.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when DTI inspectors were appointed to investigate the affairs of Resort Hotels; when the report was published; what the report cost; and what regulatory action was taken against auditors.[100981]

Miss Melanie Johnson

There has been no appointment of inspectors under the Companies Act and therefore no publishable report.

Further to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield (Mr. McCartney) to my hon. Friend's question on 8 July 1997, Official Report, column 414, where he referred to the inquiry by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, I can confirm that following an investigation by the Accountants' Joint Disciplinary Scheme ("JDS") and subsequent JDS Tribunals, in January 2001, Mr. Roland Peter Lewis FCA, former Finance Director of Resort Hotels plc ("Resort"), was severely reprimanded and fined £15,000 and in February 2001, the former auditors of Resort, Coopers and Lybrand, were fined £100,000 and a former Coopers and Lybrand partner, Alun Thomas FCA, was fined £5,000 and severely reprimanded.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will appoint inspectors to investigate the accounting failures at Swiss Life. [100831]

Miss Melanie Johnson

If my hon. Friend will send me any evidence in support of his requests to appoint inspectors, I will consider it.