Quote by Tom A. Watson
And obviously, with hindsight now, now knowing what went on in the company, it would have been absolutely appropriate back then for us to have the chief executive of the company, most senior person in the United Kingdom, come and answer for the policy they were pursuing. And we ducked that, and frankly that's a failure of Parliament.
Summary
This quote emphasizes the speaker's belief that, looking back on a company's questionable actions, it would have been entirely justified to have the chief executive, who held significant power within the UK, personally address and defend the company's policies. However, this opportunity was missed, resulting in the speaker perceiving it as a failure on the part of Parliament. The quote suggests that not holding the chief executive accountable for their decisions is a failure of parliamentary responsibility and accountability.