HC Deb 13 July 1966 vol 731 cc1442-3
8. Mr. Wall

asked the Postmaster-General why letters from Rhodesia are being opened by the Post Office authorities.

Mr. Edward Short

Letters from any country abroad, including Rhodesia, are liable to be opened by my Department at the request of Customs for the purposes of Customs and Exchange Control. Any letter which is opened in this way is resealed with an official label bearing a printed explanation.

Mr. Wall

Is the Postmaster-General aware of the widespread belief in this country and in Rhodesia that letters are being opened, presumably for the purpose of gaining information about conditions in Rhodesia? Can he categorically deny that that is so?

Mr. Short

I can categorically deny that there is any censorship of letters coming into this country, except for the purposes that I have mentioned. I think that the difficulty arose in the early days of U.D.I. because the Rhodesian authorities opened a number of letters coming to this country, and they were stamped with a censor's stamp. That may have given rise to the misunderstanding.

Mr. Crawshaw

Would my right hon. Friend consider not only opening letters but confiscating letters which are filling hon. Members' postbags with a lot of racial propaganda?