Mr. Jeremy Godfrey:

Deputy Bruton is quite right. Of course prosecuting competition offences is only one part of our mandate. In this case our first priority is to assess whether or not that is something that we ought to take further because businesses colluding to increase prices in a key commodity like fuel at a time like this would be a really unconscionable thing for them to do. That is our first priority. The information we gather in that process may well shed light on some of the issues the Deputy raises. When I say we need to give an update, that does not necessarily mean we have to wait until all the competition issues have been resolved but I do not want to give a particular timeframe. We will have to consider quite carefully what we can say and what use we can make of the information we have in a way that addresses the issues the Deputy has raised but in a way that does not compromise anything that might happen in court in the future. Forgive me, I know I may be frustrating members of the committee but I really do not want to say anything more specific than that. I assure members that we have heard the message loud and clear and we share the view that this is an issue of great importance to the public, to consumers, to vulnerable members of society, to public representatives and to all of us. Providing what information we can as soon as we possibly can is something that we are committed to doing. We hear members want this but we do not want to be pushed into giving a specific timeframe for that at this meeting.