§ 32. Mr. CRAVEN-ELLISasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the Government failed to accept the considered and unanimous view of the Police Council and decided to impose the second cut in the pay of the police; and whether, in view of the dissatisfaction that it has caused, both in the ranks of the service and amongst police authorities generally, and also of the general opposition to the cut as expressed by responsible bodies of citizens, he will defer the imposition of the cut until the matter has been discussed by this House?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. Oliver Stanley)The second instalment 640 of the cut in police pay is already in operation. The reasons which impelled the Government to decide that it should be imposed are set out in the statement prepared at the time and published in the Press, a copy of which I am sending to my hon. Friend.
§ Mr. CRAVEN-ELLISIn view of the inevitable decline in the efficiency of the police force—
§ Mr. SPEAKEROrder.
§ Later—
§ Sir J. LAMBMay I ask your Ruling, Mr. Speaker, whether it is in order for an hon. Member to cast aspersions on the national police force and not to be allowed to withdraw the aspersions, especially seeing that they were made in a supplementary question which had not been scrutinised by you?
§ Mr. SPEAKERI stopped the hon. Member the moment I heard what he was saying. I do not know that I can do any more than that.
§ Sir MURDOCH McKENZIE WOODAs tile hon. Member concerned is not here, may I point out that if he had been allowed to give his question in full, it would have been shown that he intended to make no aspersions?
§ Mr. SPEAKERNo hon. Member has a right to begin a question in the terms in which the hon. Member started his. Whether it was in full or not makes no difference.
§ Sir M. WOODMay I ask, in fairness to my hon. Friend who was sitting beside me, whether he did not in point of fact ask to be allowed to make an explanation at the end of Questions so that the position might be quite plain?
§ Mr. SPEAKERIt is true that he did ask me if he might make an explanation, and as there did not seem to me anything to explain, I said I thought he could not.