HC Deb 13 December 1948 vol 459 cc830-1
45. Sir W. Smithers

asked the Prime Minister if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a copy of a letter which he has sent to the Civil Service National Whitley Council containing new instructions regarding the purge of Communists and Fascists in the Civil Service.

The Prime Minister (Mr. Attlee)

I will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a copy of the letter to the Chairman of the Staff Side of the Civil Service National Whitley Council, which I presume the hon. Member has in mind.

Sir W. Smithers

Is the Prime Minister not aware that purges, like charity, begin at home; and in order to eradicate the disease of Communism will he direct that all members of his Government should receive a double dose of Conservative castor oil?

Following is a copy of the letter:

10, Downing Street,

Whitehall,

S.W.1.

1st December, 1948.

DEAR MR. DAY,

Communists and Fascists in the Civil Service

When you brought a deputation from the National Staff Side to see the Chancellor of the Exchequer and myself on 3rd November, you reminded me that the Government had undertaken that a civil servant thought to come within the scope of my statement of 15th March last should be given any particulars in support of the allegation that might enable him to clear himself. As examples of the particulars that might be given there were instanced the date of the alleged membership or the nature of the alleged association. You pointed out that the Government had made it plain that his undertaking was subject to the limitation that no particulars could be given that might involve the disclosure of the source of evidence, but you claimed that in practice in all the 29 cases that had come to the notice of the National Staff Side, particulars had been consistently withheld. You claimed, therefore, that the Government were failing to carry out their undertaking.

I promised to go into the matter with the Ministers of the four Departments in which you said the 29 cases to which you referred had arisen.

I have received particulars of 29 cases of non-industrial civil servants from these Departments who have been alleged to come within the scope of my statement of 15th March. In seven of these cases the allegation was later withdrawn, so I think it is only necessary to consider the remaining 22 cases. In 13 of these cases particulars in support of the allegation have been given. Admittedly in four of these cases the supporting information was no more than that the person concerned had recently been a member of the Communist Party, but in all other cases the civil servant has either been given such particulars as the date or period of membership or association, or of the branch to which it is alleged he belonged.

In five cases no information has been given beyond the allegation of membership or association, but I am satisfied that in all these cases it would have been impossible to have given supporting particulars without disclosing sources of evidence. The Government have always made it clear that in a proportion of cases this is bound to be the position.

That leaves four cases where I find that certain information could have been given in support of the allegation but was not, in fact, so given. I have gone into the matter myself and come to the conclusion that in the circumstances no good purpose would be served by supplying the information at this stage.

It thus appears that the assertion made by the Staff Side, that in none of the 29 cases that had come to their notice had any particulars in support of the allegation been given to the civil servant, cannot be sustained. I have, however, given instructions that even greater care must be taken in future to see that the civil servant is given all particulars that can be given without disclosing sources of evidence.

Yours sincerely,

C. R. ATTLEE.

A. J. T. DAY, Esq., C.B.E.