CONDUCT OF RIGHT HONOURABLE MEMBER FOR HENLEY AND LATE PAYMENT (No. 2)

That this House draws the attention of the Deputy Prime Minister to the comments of his Right honourable Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer that 'late payments wreak havoc with cash flow, and for many small firms they can make the difference between survival and failure'; demands an apology from the Deputy Prime Minister for his insensitive boast that he was 'quite skilful at stringing along the creditors'; draws attention to the remarks of his former business partner, Mr Ian Josephs, regarding the Deputy Prime Minister's appalling practices of 'sending out cheques which needed two signatures and signing only once', ensuring that 'words and figures on the cheque do not match', and not answering writs; asks the Deputy Prime Minister whether he stands by the view he expressed to Mr Joseph that there are three kinds of bills needing payments 'when the writ was to be issued, then when it expired and when the bailiffs came'; calls on the Deputy Prime Minister to demonstrate his attitude has changed by supporting a requirement for large companies to state their payment practices in their annual reports and examining the strong case for the introduction of a legal right to interest on late payment above a given amount; and condemns the Deputy Prime Minister for an attitude which has resulted in the Government owing ú232 million to business.