HC Deb 23 November 1943 vol 393 c1449
62. Mr. Kirby

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that business letters from firms in Switzerland sent by air mail to firms in this country travel via Stuttgart, Germany, where they are censored by the enemy; whether similar letters sent to Switzerland from Great Britain are also subject to being read and censored by the Germans; and, if so, is he taking steps to ensure that in future no such letters shall pass through enemy hands?

The Assistant Postmaster-General (Mr. Grimston)

I have been asked to reply. It is not possible to get mails into or out of Switzerland without their coming under enemy control. The public in this country have been warned that the mails to Switzerland are liable to censorship by the enemy and advised to exercise the utmost discretion as to what they send and write. Correspondence for Switzerland is subject to censorship in this country before despatch.

Mr. Kirby

Is it not possible for the British Government to approach the Swiss Government with a view to getting the mails transferred via Spain or Portugal?

Mr. Grimston

If my hon. Friend will accompany me to the map room afterwards, he will see that it is quite impossible to get letters to and from Switzerland without their passing through enemy territory.