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Farepak

I shall give way to my hon. Friend in a minute. I know that Members of all parties donate to charities all the time, privately and selflessly, but I think it important to assist the process by doing as I suggest. My right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford, East (Mr. Smith) asked about the London stock exchange. By coincidence I have made contact with the chief executive of the London stock exchange, Clara Furse, and I hope to talk to her later today about the possibility of organising a trader’s day, in which some of the proceeds of the day’s trading would be turned through the fund into gifts for children, the elderly and people with disabilities, and other vulnerable people who have suffered from the collapse of Farepak. Many companies and bodies have contacted me to say that they want to help, and they can now do so with confidence because there is a dedicated fund for them to support. There is no reason not to do that. I believe, and so do members of the BRC, that the fund overcomes practical difficulties that the BRC had previously referred to. For example, Tesco contacted me again this morning and committed itself to putting £250,000 in the fund immediately. Others have in principle agreed to support the fund and I hope that in the next few days they will do so. The fund offers the opportunity, whether to a multinational company or a national or local company, to make a contribution—a gesture—large or small. Uniquely, we now have a fund where individuals with resources can also make contributions to help children or others who have been deeply affected by the Christmas failure. The fund is about the spirit of Christmas. As some of my hon. Friends have shown, there is good will about. I shall place in the Library for all Members in the next 24 hours a full, detailed statement about issues concerning regulatory affairs, administration and the questions that have been asked today. Obviously I shall write personally to the Opposition spokesman. I shall answer all the questions honestly. There will be a reason given when I cannot answer. Let us pull together. This is a national emergency involving more than 100,000 people. We have a few days to do something. Let us go forward with the fund and resolve the issues affecting it. Let us get the resources to the people who need them, and make sure that the regulatory inquiries take place in an appropriate way. That will enable us to deal with the issue effectively.