HC Deb 24 April 1956 vol 551 cc1590-1
21. Mr. Hyde

asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he is satisfied with the adequacy of the present security arrangements in the Tate Gallery.

The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Henry Brooke)

The Trustees of the Tate Gallery are, I am informed, urgently reviewing their security arrangements in the light of the recent theft of a picture from the Gallery.

Mr. Hyde

Is my right hon. Friend aware that on the occasion of the recent temporary disappearance of a painting from the Tate Gallery, the porter held the door open for the picture to be carried away, and that this was conveniently photographed by a photographer in attendance? Is my right hon. Friend further aware that, since its return, the picture has been screwed to the wall of the Gallery? Is it intended that all pictures in the Gallery shall in future be screwed to the wall, or only the thirty-nine pictures in the Lane collection which Her Majesty's Government are evidently so anxious to retain in this country?

Mr. Brooke

I do not think that my hon. Friend is correct in suggesting that the attendant held the door open. However, if my hon. Friend can give me any further information on that matter I shall be very glad to examine it. As regards screwing pictures to the wall, that has its advantages, which are obvious, and its disadvantages, in that the pictures are less easily removable in the case of fire.

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