SALE OF HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE

That this House notes with extreme distaste the financial connections between the companies involved in the purchase of the former Her Majesty's Stationery Office and the Conservative Party; recalls that HMSO was sold for a mere ú54 million, thereby ending a long and honourable tradition of public service; notes that the beneficiaries of this transaction were a consortium known as Electra Fleming, the constituent parts of which are the Electra Investment Trust and Robert Fleming merchant bank; further notes that Robert Fleming have donated ú527,000 to the Conservative Party while the Electra Investment Trust has chipped in at least ú40,000; further notes that Electra Fleming itself is a member of the Millennium Club, which offers access to senior Cabinet ministers in return for money; further notes that the Executive Board of the Electra Investment Trust includes the Right honourable Member for Bridgwater and the Conservative peer, Lord Vinsom of Roddam Dene; concludes that the whole deal is hopelessly tainted and against the public interest; and condemns Her Majesty's Government for selling off a valuable and respected public asset to its political funders at a fraction of the true value.