Thomas Cook
Debate between Mike Amesbury and Grant Shapps(5 years, 2 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Grant Shapps
Yes. The problem was that it was never apparent that there was a package to sit behind that that somebody putting money in would support—in other words, that it was not necessarily going to save the company even then.
Mike Amesbury (Weaver Vale) (Lab)
Penny Jepson has lost her job after working for Thomas Cook for 16 years—one of 9,000 people. She is concerned about the inept response from the Government. It is costing an absolute fortune to repatriate people. Why not simply invest in this company via a bridging loan?
Grant Shapps
I know the hon. Gentleman has heard this answer before, but Governments are not about running travel companies, obviously. If there was any way in which we thought a short-term guarantee or loan would have kept the company going, it would have been a serious prospect, but I am afraid that there was never a serious plan brought to us on that front.