HC Deb 01 February 1973 vol 849 cc1595-6
13. Mr. Hunt

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many aliens have been permitted to enter Great Britain in connection with the Children of God movement.

Mr. Lane

Accurate figures are not available but the number is believed to have been something over 150 in 1972. Many have since left.

Mr. Hunt

Is my hon. Friend aware that among those leaders who are left are many who are peddling a dubious brand of Christianity to impressionable and often unstable young people, and, in the process, turning them against their parents and society? Unless it can be shown that these Americans are engaged in gainful employment, is not there a strong case for seeing that they are united with their mysterious leader, Moses, back in the United States?

Mr. Lane

I know of this anxiety, and my right hon. Friend is keeping a close eye on the adherents of this movement. So far we have no evidence of criminal offences. I can assure my hon. Friend that we will use our powers to get rid of any who prove undesirable.