My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Employment Relations and Minister for London (Jim Fitzpatrick) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

On 13 February 2006, the Department of Trade and Industry issued a Written Answer to House of Commons Parliamentary Question No. 2005/3120 from Austin Mitchell MP (Hansard, vol. 442, col. 1635W), which sought information regarding the (a) prosecutions and (b) successful prosecutions for insider trading since 1997. Richard Steele was named as a person who had been convicted of such an offence. The record should show that while criminal proceedings were brought against Richard Steele for insider trading, namely an offence contrary to Section 52 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993, he was not convicted of that (or any other) offence. The record should also therefore show that from 1997 to 13 February 2006 proceedings were brought against 15 individuals, of which eight were successful.