I WAS inclined to discount the rumours which have been
circulating recently about the tyre monopoly. The accusa- tion that the Monopolies Commission Report on the tyre ring was being held up at the request of the ringers themselves seemed too fantastic to be credible. But Mr. Thorneycroft has now admitted that it was correct. The ring have asked him, he says, to excise parts of the report. and he is deliberating whether he should agree 'in the national interest.' I under- stand that `the national interest' in this case is the export trade. It is undoubtedly true that some countries have anti-cartel regulations which could be invoked against importers; that is to say, a Ruritanian tyre manufacturer might secure a ban on English-made tyres if this Monopolies Commission Report reveals (as, of course, it will) the existence in Britain of a ring. But does this mean that it is in `the national interest' to censor the report? I would say that is stretching the interpretation a little far—even farther than the idea that it is 'in the national interest' to have two television programmes showing the Test matches! But apart from thig, the tyre industry will only do itself harm by seeking to disguise its restrictive practices. Under the forthcoming Bill it will have a chance to justify them, which is a very different thing; but there is no excuse for. trying to keep them secret.
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