§ Mr. Daggarasked the Home Secretary whether he has considered the letter of protest from the Swail Griffin Lodge of the South Wales Miners' Federation regarding the alleged batoning of people in one of the London areas when they endeavoured to enter an air-raid shelter; and, if so, will he state the nature of his reply?
§ Mr. PeakeYes Sir. The letter in question is based on a complete misapprenhension of the facts. On the afternoon of Saturday, 19th October, a shelter was temporarily closed for the purposes of cleaning and the installation of bunks. The sirens sounded, a crowd collected, and for about a minute it was impossible to open the doors owing to the pressure of the crowd from outside. When the doors were opened and the crowd pressed in two people were slightly injured. On the next day there was a local meeting and certain people attempted to force their way into the office of the local A.R.P. Controller, It was on this occasion that it was necessary for the police to take action to deal with the intruders; but as legal proceedings are in progress against certain of the persons concerned, it would be improper for me at this stage to make any statement about the police action on this occasion. It will be seen, however, that for the suggestion that the police took action against persons endeavouring to enter an air-raid shelter, there is no foundation whatever.