§ 36. Mr. Keelingasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that the "No Entry" sign in Howick Place, Westminster, has never been prescribed or otherwise authorised under Section 48 (2) of the Road Traffic Act, 1930; and whether he will direct the Metropolitan Police to remove what is therefore an illegal obstruction.
§ Mr. EdeI would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Croydon, East (Sir H. Williams) on 7th December.
§ Mr. KeelingYes, but is the right hon. Gentleman aware that neither my hon. Friend's Question nor mine was then answered? Here is an illegality com- 1340 mitted by the Commissioner of Police. Should not the Commissioner of Police be the first to observe the law?
§ Mr. EdeI am grateful to the two hon. Members for the Questions they have put down, because they reveal that local authorities generally, in putting these experimental one-way streets into operation, have actually committed an infraction of the law. I admit that, technically, that is so. I think it is obviously to everyone's advantage that before a one-way street is definitely established by order, there should be an experimental period during which the scheme is tried out, and I should think it would be desirable, when we get an opportunity—I hope it will not be too long delayed—to give legal power to have an experimental period before the order is made.
§ Mr. KeelingWhy did not the police ask the Minister of Transport for authority to experiment, as the law requires?
§ Mr. EdeAs I understand it, there is no authority to make an experiment. If an order is made, it remains. One might perhaps hold an experiment for three weeks and then ask for the revocation of the order. What I want to do is to secure that there shall be machinery by which it can be legally possible to have a short experimental period before the order is made.
§ Mr. HollisWhat happens if people drive down this street now?