HC Deb 25 February 1937 vol 320 cc2166-7
29. Mr. Thurtle

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to the case of Mrs. Urquhart, who was recently charged with wilful obstruction at Hendon police court; whether he is aware that the magistrate stopped the case owing to what he described as discrepancies of evidence; that subsequently the Commissioner of Police paid Mrs. Urquhart a sum of money by way of compensation; and whether he will cause an inquiry to be made into the circumstances in which the charge was made and the subsequent refusal of the police in the first instance to make any amends for a wrongful prosecution, with a view to the avoidance of similar unjustifiable charges in the future?

Sir J. Simon

Yes, Sir. I have had before me particulars of this case. The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, on going thoroughly into the matter, satisfied himself that a serious mistake had been made. Apologies were tendered to Mrs. Urquhart with a sum in compensation which she accepted. The question of further inquiry is bound up with that of disciplinary action against the officers concerned, which the Commissioner of Police has at present under consideration.

Mr. Thurtle

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this lady was subjected to a wholly unnecessary and humiliating examination, and, further, that a disturbing feature of the case is that, when the Commissioner was approached, he said the action of the police was satisfactory, and it was only after the threat of an action for civil damages that he altered his point of view?

Sir J. Simon

I am very glad that the mistake was corrected. I do not think that in any other country you would necessarily find that, when the original official act was found to be wrong, it would be withdrawn and apologies made.

Mr. Thurtle

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, unless this lady had had a somewhat pertinacious solicitor, justice would not have been done?

Mr. Pritt

Is not the right hon. Gentleman gravely dissatisfied with the fact that, after an utterly illegal personal search of the woman by a police matron, the Commissioner of Police wrote that he was perfectly satisfied with what had been done?

Sir J. Simon

I regret the incident as much as anyone, but, on the whole, it is a good thing to live in a country where, when a mistake has been made, it can be openly exposed and corrected.

Mr. Pritt

Is not the right hon. Gentleman of the opinion that it is only once in a hundred cases where a mistake is redressed?