HC Deb 18 November 1976 vol 919 cc1553-4
12. Mr. Greville Janner

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many overseas visitors have been charged with and convicted of shoplifting in the United Kingdom during the last 12 months for which records are available.

Mr. John

I regret that the information is not available: the statistics do not record the country of origin of offenders.

Mr. Janner

As it is well known that, unfortunately, visitors from overseas figure prominently in the number of shoplifters who are rightly convicted, will my hon. Friend warn such people that they are not at all welcome here on that basis? At the same time, as the Christmas shopping and shoplifting season approaches, will he warn people from overseas and in this country of the grave danger in this country of being wrongly charged with shoplifting?

Mr. John

I recognise that my hon. and learned Friend has taken a deep interest in this subject over many years. I deprecate shoplifting, whether it be by over- seas visitors or people in this country. I am not xenophobic in that regard.

Mr. Adley

Will the Minister accept that there is a wholly different set of circumstances between what pertains in the West End of London and in other towns and cities, where many individual tragedies take place on wrongful conviction due to the trading methods of self-service stores? Will the Minister look again at his own Home Office working party's report, and if stores will not take the preventive measures recommended in that report will he consider introducing legislation to force them to do so?

Mr. John

I have knowledge of vases in my constituency in which tragedies of the kind mentioned by the hon. Gentleman have taken place. The report itself did not recommend any Government action. It was directed at the stores and the reform of their trading methods. If the hon. Gentleman would care to submit any evidence which he has in his possession, I will certainly look at it.