§ 12. Mr. Wadeasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will relax the restrictions on the admission to this country of Hungarian refugees from Austria.
§ Mr. R. A. ButlerI would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave on 14th March last to my hon. Friend the Member for Armagh (Mr. Armstrong).
§ Mr. WadeIs the Home Secretary aware that there are 40,000 Hungarians still living in refugee camps in Austria, and that this is a tragic problem which Austria alone cannot possibly tackle? In view of the recent plea by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, could not Britain do something more to help in finding a home and work for these unfortunate people?
§ Mr. ButlerI think that this country has been generous. In all, approximately 21,000 Hungarian refugees, including the Coal Board recruits, have come to the United Kingdom from Austria. So far 3,500 have gone to Canada, and that movement is still in progress. Until we see how far the movement in progress to other countries is carried forward, I could not undertake that we should take more.