HC Deb 23 January 1947 vol 432 cc370-1
80. Mr. Sydney Silverman

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why his Department informed the employers of Miklos Hammer that he was an undesirable alien and the sooner they got rid of him the better; why Hammer himself was summoned to Scotland Yard and there pressed to leave the country; and what offence this survivor of Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Dachau has committed.

Mr. Ede

I have been unable to find any foundation for the first allegation in this Question. As regards the second, the police were recently instructed to ascertain what steps this Hungarian was taking to leave the United Kingdom, and, as he was not at home when the police visited, he was asked to call—not at Scotland Yard, but at the local police station. As I stated in reply to a previous Question by my hon. Friend, this foreigner came here by falsely claiming to be a British subject, and it would be wrong to encourage any idea that foreigners who reach our ports by false pretences will be allowed to stop here.

Mr. Silverman

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that, however false the pretence was, had this gentleman not made it, he would now be dead? It was his only means of saving his life. So far as the first part of the Question is concerned, if my right hon. Friend is unable to find any foundation for it, will he inquire of the reputable firm who employed this man, and to whom the statement was made; and, with regard to the last part of his answer, may I ask him whether it is now the public policy in this country for the surviving victims of Nazism to be hounded by a secret police?

Mr. Ede

No, Sir, that is not the policy. During my tenure of office, I have endeavoured to adopt as liberal an attitude as I can towards those people and, I believe, with some measure of success, but I cannot administer the law which this House has passed if I am to allow people who arrive in this country under false pretences to remain here. I take particular care to see that no person is compelled to leave for a country where his religious or political views are likely to bring him into difficulties with the prevailing authorities there.

Mr. Silverman

Does not this gentleman come within that category, and, that being so, can my right hon. Friend now give an assurance that he will not be further disturbed?

Mr. Ede

This man arrived here under false pretences. It is my duty to see that the law of the country is enforced, and he will be required to leave this country, but only for some destination where he will be safe from religious and political persecution.

Mr. Silverman

Can my right hon. Friend say whether such a—

Mr. Speaker

Considerable time has been devoted to this Question, and I think we had better pass on to the Business of the House.