A proposed takeover had been referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission under the 1973 Act. A majority of the Commission recommended against the takeover. The Deputy (acting instead of the Secretary who had an interest) overruled the Commission. AS challenged that decision, and sought to refer to statements made by the Secretary of State and his Deputy and which were reported in Hansard.
Held: The application to quash the decision failed. The discretion given to ministers was unfettered. He was entitled to listen all views within the Commission and to make his own assessment. It had not been shown that irrelevant factors had been taken into account. Reliance could not be placed on Hansard with respect to a decision taken outside Parliament.
Citations:
[1983] 2 All ER 233
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Applied – Associated Provincial Picture Houses Ltd v Wednesbury Corporation CA 10-Nov-1947
Administrative Discretion to be Used Reasonably
The applicant challenged the manner of decision making as to the conditions which had been attached to its licence to open the cinema on Sundays. It had not been allowed to admit children under 15 years of age. The statute provided no appeal . .
Applied – Church of Scientology of California v Johnson-Smith QBD 1971
The plaintiff church sued the defendant, a Member of Parliament, for remarks made by the defendant in a television programme. He pleaded fair comment and the plaintiff replied with a plea of malice, relying on statements made in Parliament. The . .
Cited by:
Overruled – Pepper (Inspector of Taxes) v Hart HL 26-Nov-1992
Reference to Parliamentary Papers behind Statute
The inspector sought to tax the benefits in kind received by teachers at a private school in having their children educated at the school for free. Having agreed this was a taxable emolument, it was argued as to whether the taxable benefit was the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Commercial
Updated: 19 June 2022; Ref: scu.182422
