§ 62. Dr. Littleasked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the fact that a native of Eire, employed in the engineering department of the Post Office, was recently asked to leave the country because of his illegal activities, he will-give instructions that in future all vacancies are to be filled by men of proved loyalty resident in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
§ The Assistant Postmaster-General (Captain Waterhouse)The regulations of the Post Office, as of other Government Departments, provide that a candidate for employment must be a natural born British subject and the child of a person who is, or was at the time of death, a British subject. The officer to whom my hon. Friend is thought to refer is a British subject. He was born in Ireland, and his 1404 father was a civil servant born in Edinburgh. He was himself educated in London and was resident in London at the age of 16 when he was engaged by the Post Office, and, as he complied with the regulations and was apparently a suitable candidate, there was no ground for rejecting him. I do not, therefore, consider that this case provides grounds for revising the nationality regulations at present in force in the Post Office.
§ Dr. LittleWill my hon. and gallant Friend promise that he will exercise a great deal more care in making these appointments?