§ 2. Dr. D. Johnsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what record is kept of convicted prostitutes who have obtained British nationality by marriage.
§ Mr. R. A. ButlerIt is the practice of the Metropolitan Police, when a married prostitute first comes to notice, to inquire whether she was an alien before marriage. I am circulating what information is available in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Dr. JohnsonWhen considering fresh legislation, will my right hon. Friend have in mind this question of so-called marriages of convenience, whereby foreign women are brought into this country and given British nationality by marriage purely for the purpose of prostitution?
§ Mr. ButlerI have looked into that and if my hon. Friend will refer to paragraph 343 of the Wolfenden Report, he will see that that shows the difficulties involved in devising a machinery to deal with this matter, but, of course, it is one that is always with us.
Following is the information:Of 643 women arrested in the West End for soliciting in 1956, 82 were married women of foreign origin; only 21 of these had first come to notice in the years 1953–6. It cannot be assumed that the marriages were in all cases marriages of convenience. Information is not available from police forces other than the Metropolitan.