HC Deb 29 April 1948 vol 450 c65W
37. Mr. Rhys Davies

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the approximate proportion of criminals sentenced in the Metropolitan area since the end of the war who are deserters from His Majesty's Forces.

Mr. Ede

These particulars could not be obtained without an undue expenditure of time and labour. From information readily available, however, it is estimated that of the persons convicted of indictable offences in the Metropolitan Police district in 1946, approximately 1,050 were deserters, representing 4.7 per cent. of the total. I have no reason to think that the percentage has risen during 1947