§ Mr. BOWERMANasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will consider the advisability of giving the contracts for the supply of clothing for the Metropolitan Police to London firms, who will employ the necessary labour in London, as is the practice with contracts under the London County Council?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. Churchill)I am not prepared to restrict the contracts for clothing in the manner suggested. It is very desirable, in dealing with large contracts such as these, to have a wide field of competition and choice; and it must be remembered that the Metropolitan Police is by no means exclusively a London force, and that a large portion of its income is derived from Imperial taxation.