Dti Report On House Of Fraser Holdings Plc

EDM number 140 in 1990-91, proposed by DN Campbell-Savours on 29/11/1990.

That this House is aware that the illicit copy of the DTI report on House of Fraser which found its way into the possession of Lonrho and The Observer newspaper originated from the Fraud Squad; is further aware from the revelations of the Mail on Sunday that instructions were given for its reprinting in Germany after the DTI obtained a court order prohibiting any such action; knows that the reprinting was commissioned by arms dealer Hermann Moll and Samuel Evans, a lawyer used by Tiny Rowland, the Chief Executive of Lonrho; is concerned that the police made no effort to pursue the leads disclosed by the Mail for more than six months; understands that tardy police inquiries have at last confirmed the position but that the police have still, unaccountably, failed to interview Samuel Evans; finds this remarkable in that the police now have proof that Samuel Evans and his associates knowingly handled property which was not theirs in the form of the report; believes that the police have identified the fingerprints of one of their officers on a copy of the report returned by Tiny Rowland following the issue of the court order but that no disciplinary proceedings have yet been initiated against that officer; is disturbed that the policy inquiry is being narrowly restricted to the matter of the leak and is turning a blind eye to the subsequent criminal conduct which the inquiry has now established; and calls for the fullest investigation.

This motion has been signed by a total of 6 MPs.