§ Sir W. Smithersasked the Minister of Food whether his attention has been called to the remarks of the chairman of the Carmarthen Borough Magistrates Court on 30th December, 1946, concerning the case of Mr. David George Lewis, who was fined £2 for buying rabbits at a price exceeding the maximum from one of his Department's officers; who was responsible for giving instructions to this officer; and why he was not prosecuted for breaking the law.
§ Mr. StracheyI have gone fully into this case and am satisfied that my officer offered no inducement to break the law. It is an accepted practice, approved by the courts, to make tests of this kind where there is no other way of proving offences thought to be habitually taking place. The officer concerned was acting under my orders and in accordance with the law as interpreted by the courts and there can be no question of prosecuting him