§ 4. Mr. Crouchasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why his Department, on being requested on the telephone last week to forward a letter from a British subject in Dorset to an Italian subject visiting this country, refused to do so, despite the fact that his Department knew the address of the Italian visitor; and whether this is the normal practice of his Department.
§ Mr. EdeThe address given by an alien who registers with the police under the Aliens Order is treated as confidential and it is the practice to refuse to forward letters to him. In exceptional cases, such as where there are compassionate grounds, the police are asked to give to the alien the name and address of the person who is seeking to get in touch with him, making it clear to the alien that he is under no compulsion to respond. In the case to which the hon. Member refers the information did not seem to justify action on these lines.
§ Mr. CrouchOn what grounds did the right hon. Gentleman's Department 1872 refuse to forward this letter, because I see no harm in forwarding a letter without disclosing the address of a person who wanted the letter to be forwarded?
§ Mr. EdeMany of the aliens who come here are fleeing from some form of persecution and it would be very undesirable that the police should be used to convey, even in this kind of way, a letter that might contain a threat to them