Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts
Thursday 7th December 2023

(11 months, 2 weeks ago)

Commons Chamber
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Michael Tomlinson Portrait The Solicitor General
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My hon. Friend always raises serious points and brings to bear his expertise from the Home Affairs Committee. There is a case for cross-Government working. In my role as a Law Officer I work across all Departments, including the Home Office, and I look forward to continuing to do so.

Nick Smith Portrait Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)
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Greensill Capital is subject to criminal investigation in the UK, Switzerland and Germany. In Duncan Mavin’s book “A Pyramid of Lies,” he subtitles the saga

“The Prime Minister, the Banker and the Billion-Pound Scandal”.

Amazingly, the company was not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Will the Attorney General please look into this massive loophole? The scandal could have been stopped if the FCA had been able to step in earlier.

Michael Tomlinson Portrait The Solicitor General
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The hon. Gentleman will understand that the Attorney General and I superintend both the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office, but that does not mean that we direct how they conduct investigations, and nor should we. It is right and proper that both organisations conduct their matters independently of Government, and that will continue.