The Observer And The Fraud Squad

EDM number 549 in 1989-90, proposed by DN Campbell-Savours on 15/02/1990.

That this House recalls that in Early Day Motion 1366 of Session 1988-89 the honourable Member for Workington disclosed that a copy of the Department of Trade and Industry report into the House of Fraser leaked to Lonrho and thence to its Observer newspaper was numbered 26 and had been allocated to the Fraud Squad; asks whether the two officers prematurely taken off the Fraser inquiry following the leak are still serving police officers and whether any formal proceedings have yet been initiated against them; seeks an explanation as to why one of those officers should have ignored orders by meeting Mr Melvyn Marckus, City Editor of The Observer, on a number of occasions, including the evening of publication of the special edition of The Observer which published extracts from the leaked report; wonders when an announcement will be made as to the future of the two officers; will continue to draw the disturbing but inevitable inference that the meetings between the officer and Mr Marckus and the transmission of a copy of report number 26 were linked until such time as a full and clear statement to the contrary is made; and calls upon Mr Tiny Rowland to divest himself of control of The Observer.

This motion has been signed by a total of 4 MPs.