§ 22. Mr. W. THORNEasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been drawn to a prosecution at Wallsend under the No-Treating Order, in which it was admitted that plain-clothes constables attended the Ship Hotel and accepted treats from persons in the bar; whether he will cause inquiries to be made if the officers in question were personally known to those who paid for the liquor; and whether they used any language towards the defendants, while in the bar, which induced the latter to believe that, though they were officers of the law, they were prepared to be parties to a breach of it?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. Herbert Samuel)I assume that my hon. Friend refers to proceedings at the Walsall Police 407 Court on 8th February. I have made inquiry and can find no ground for believing that the plain-clothes officers accepted treats from persons at the bar, or used language to suggest that they would be parties to a breach of the law. I am informed that no such admission as is suggested in the question was made.