§ MR. W. T. WILSON (Lancashire, Westhoughton)To ask the Postmaster-General if his attention has been called to the practice of secret reporting in the case of an officer of irreproachable character of the Eastern Central section of the General Post Office for an alleged offence which he emphatically denies, in which no explanation was asked for of the alleged misconduct until nearly a month after it is said to have occurred; and whether he will cause inquiry to be made into the circumstances of the case, and, in view of the abuses which such delay is likely to give rise to, will he give instructions for all officers who have serious charges made against them to have a copy of such charges supplied to them at the time they are alleged to be committed, that they may at once have an opportunity of tendering an explanation.
(Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) The facts of the case to which I understand the hon. Member to refer have been more than once brought to my notice, and I am satisfied that no injustice was done to the officer in question. It is the usual practice to ask for an 1069 explanation of misconduct without delay; but cases may from time to time arise in which an interval occurs between the time of the commission of an offence and the request for a written explanation.