HC Deb 13 March 1968 vol 760 cc1374-6
Mr. Hooley (by Private Notice)

asked the Attorney-General if he will instruct the Director of Public Prosecutions to take action under Section 159 of the Representation of the People Act, in respect of the free supply by Aims of Industry of a pamphlet entitled "Transport Leaflet for By-Elections" to the electors in the by-elections now pending.

The Attorney-General (Sir Elwyn Jones)

If my hon. Friend will forward to me details of the alleged contravention of the Act, I shall refer the matter to the Director of Public Prosecutions for him to make such inquiries as seem to him to be appropriate.

Mr. Hooley

I thank my right hon. and learned Friend for that reply. Certainly I will supply the information that he has requested. Would he not agree that it is undesirable that a powerful pressure group with secret funds should seek to influence elections in this fashion?

The Attorney-General

As I am asked to have a possible criminal offence investigated, perhaps the least that I say about the matter, the better.

Mr. Peyton

Would not the right hon. and learned Gentleman agree that, if a Government introduce what the Leader of the House describes as "fascinating little experiments" of this kind, it is in the performance of a public duty that any organisation such as Aims of Industry brings the proposals in detail to the notice of the public who, at first blush, might not be ready to believe that any Government could be so demented as to produce them?

The Attorney-General

I do not want to anticipate the results of the inquiry by the Director of Public Prosecutions. But if the inquiry were to discover unauthorised expenditure with a view to promoting or procuring the election of a candidate, I hope that even the hon. Gentleman would not countenance matters of that kind.

Mr. Alexander W. Lyon

Would my right hon. and learned Friend give an undertaking that if the Conservative candidate in South Kensington fails to include the appropriate costs in his by-election return of costs, he will take up, as a test case in the courts, the question of whether such a move was justified?

The Attorney-General

The important matter is to get hold of the facts first and then consider what action, if any, is appropriate in the light of the information that may be obtained.

Mr. Lubbock

Does the right hon. and learned Gentleman agree that a candidate can be placed in a very awkward position if literature is distributed in his support without his authorisation? Will he make sure that, in any action taken by the Director of Public Prosecutions, if it can be established that the candidate concerned has not authorised it, he does not suffer?

The Attorney-General

As I say, the critical question is whether any unauthorised expenditure is undertaken with a view to promoting or procuring the election of a candidate. That is the mischief at which Section 63(1) of the Act is directed, and that is no doubt the matter which the Director will investigate in relation to this case.

Mr. Manuel

Will my right hon. and learned Friend recognise that this is just part of the campaign against the Transport Bill and that the leaflet concerned is conveying misleading and quite untrue information? Would he also convey this to the proper quarters for examination?

The Attorney-General

I think that this distribution by politically motivated organisations does not always constitute the commission of a criminal offence.

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  1. BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE (SUPPLY) 18 words