§ 12. Mr. Huntasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what request was made by the Metropolitan 675 Police to the British Broadcasting Corporation regarding the broadcasting of radio appeals for murder witnesses.
§ Mr. Elystan MorganThe Commissioner of Police has frequently made such requests. If the hon. Member's Question relates to a broadcast on 14th May, I would refer him to the reply I gave to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Hampstead (Mr. Whitaker) on 23rd May, 1969.—[Vol. 384, c. 155.]
§ Mr. HuntIs it not a fact that the B.B.C. censored the particular appeal required by the police to trace a murder witness solely on the ground that it contained reference to the fact that the suspect's car carried a sticker proclaiming "Dirty car—dirty weekend"? Would the Minister not agree that the censoring of such a vital and descriptive clue is an example of misplaced prudery by a corporation which is not usually over-sensitive to the broadcasting of suggestive materials?
§ Mr. MorganIt is not for me to comment on prudery. It is for the B.B.C. in any instance to decide what material should be broadcast. I understand that in the event the witness was traced and found to be unconnected with the murder.
§ Mr. Eldon GriffithsWhat is the Minister's general policy towards these requests? Will he clearly tell the B.B.C. that it is part of its national duty to assist the police in these matters?
§ Mr. MorganIt would not be proper for me to say any more than that the Commissioner regrets that the words were omitted. However, the words were printed in the Press.