§ 30. Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will have inquiries made about the Nazi indoctrination and actions of persons applying for admission to the United Kingdom with a view to preventing the admission to this country of persons responsible for the teaching and spreading of such doctrines here.
§ Miss Hornsby-SmithI am not aware of any activities of this kind, but if the hon. Member will let me know what specific cases he has in mind, I will make inquiries and communicate with him.
§ Mr. JannerIf on making inquiries the hon. Lady discovers that there is a considerable amount of anti-Semitic propaganda of the Nazi type being used in camps and other places, will she deal with it?
§ Miss Hornsby-SmithWithin the law as it stands, we will take any necessary steps to prevent any offensive activities in these camps, but I think the hon. Member must draw the line between the free expression of opinion and Nazi indoctrination, which is what he calls it. 2089 Certainly, within the law, we will take any action we can against such publications.
§ 31. Mr. Jannerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has given consideration to the antisemitic journal published by some Hungarians who have been given asylum in Great Britain, a copy of which journal has been supplied to him by the hon. Member for Leicester, North-West; and whether he will take appropriate steps by introducing legislation or otherwise to prevent similar Nazi literature from being produced and circulated in Great Britain.
§ Miss Hornsby-SmithMy attention has been already drawn to this publication, which is in the Hungarian language, and steps were taken to see that no facilities were given for its display or distribution in hostels for Hungarian refugees. My right hon. Friend does not think that any further action on his part is called for, but a close watch will be kept on activities of the kind referred to.
§ Mr. JannerIs the hon. Lady aware of the fact that there are a lot of people like myself who urged that as many refugees as possible should be brought into this country who were fleeing from persecution in Hungary and other places? Is she aware that this type of publication is a very serious abuse of the right of asylum, and will she take further steps to make certain that this is not allowed, because it is, in fact, a very serious Nazi method of trying to make a distinction between one section of the community and another?
§ Miss Hornsby-SmithI sympathise very fully with the hon. Member's objections to the sentiments expressed in this publication, but I should like to clear up one matter which he has mentioned—that we freely let in Hungarian refugees without any screening. The person responsible for the particular publication which he has in mind has been here many years, and if in fact any of his actions offend against the law, he will be made answerable for them.
§ Mr. EdeIn view of the fact that it is known that on occasion people holding the view to which my hon. Friend and I object come into this country sometimes in order to send information back about 2090 their fellow nationals who are here by permission, and on other occasions perform other acts that make the lives of these people miserable, will the hon. Lady assure us that if any alien here carries out this kind of wicked enterprise he will be immediately deported?
§ Miss Hornsby-SmithI think the right hon. Member knows that the situation is very carefully watched by efficient services under the Home Office and that certainly we would not hesitate to use all the powers we have if circumstances such as the right hon. Member has outlined came about.