Go Ahead Group Bid

EDM number 394 in 1996-97, proposed by DN Campbell-Savours on 14/01/1997.

That this House notes that the Stock Exchange Surveillance Department has received information in the form of details regarding the working relationship between a group of British Rail managers and senior representatives of the Go Ahead Group; believes that this relationship enabled price-sensitive confidential and privileged information to be made available to the Go Ahead Group in contravention of rules which should have been followed in the franchising of Regional Railways North East Activities; questions why OPRAF have not been reprimanded by Ministers when they are clearly implicated in failing to enforce the code of practice for in-house bidders; understands that the Stock Exchange is seeking to establish why shares in Go Ahead rose from 361 pence on 15th November to 511 pence on 8th January a 41 per cent increase in particular with Go Ahead directors and other personnel holding information they should not have had, were able to leak price-sensitive information for use in share speculation; believes that this privileged access to information in the accounts of Regional Railways North East was used to convince those prepared to speculate that Go Ahead were more likely than other bidders to take over the network; questions why British Rail personnel leaked such information; and calls upon Ministers to make a full statement to Parliament on this major public scandal.

This motion has been signed by a total of 36 MPs.