§ 27. Mr. Hydeasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to prevent a repetition of the scenes which occurred outside Holloway Prison on the occasion of the execution of Mrs. Ruth Ellis.
§ Major Lloyd-GeorgeThe Commissioner of Police has informed me that a crowd of some 250 people formed outside the prison on the morning of the execution and that they behaved in a quiet and orderly manner. The police kept the crowd on the side of the road opposite to the prison but after the execution the crowd formed into a queue to read the notice and then dispersed quietly. Adequate arrangements were made by the police to prevent any disturbance and no action is called for on my part.
§ Mr. HydeWould my right hon. and gallant Friend not agree that these scenes, which occur with nauseating regularity when anyone is hanged in this country, are a positive disgrace to our civilisation? Would not the best way of preventing them be to abolish the death penalty altogether?
§ Mr. EdeHas the right hon. and gallant Gentleman seen a statement made by certain teachers of the district that some children could see the execution, and boasted that they had seen it? Is there any truth in that statement? If so, can steps be taken to prevent a repetition of such viewing by children of public executions?
§ Major Lloyd-GeorgeI have looked at that very carefully, as the right hon. Member will appreciate, and I find no foundation whatsoever for it.