To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why compensation paid by Her Majesty's Government to Barlow Clowes investors includes compound interest from the date of deposit to the end of December 1989; and why this interest is deemed to be free of liability for tax.

The terms of the Government's scheme of payments to investors in Barlow Clowes are in accordance with the recommendation of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration. The Department's statement regarding the tax liability of these payments reflects the advice of the Inland Revenue and is a matter for it.