HC Deb 15 April 1954 vol 526 cc132-3W
Mr. Ridsdale

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is prepared to admit foreigners to attend the Assembly of British Youth, which is to be held towards the end of May, under the auspices of the British Youth Festival Committee.

Sir D. Maxwell Fyfe

I hope that no one at home or abroad will be misled by the high-sounding name given to this self-styled Assembly of British Youth into thinking that it is in any way representative of young people in Britain. It is a Communist-sponsored gathering, and, as I have stated on a number of occasions, I am not prepared to allow foreigners to come here to attend meetings of any artificially created body which, under the guise of a harmless name, is really an instrument of Communist propaganda. I am accordingly not prepared to admit foreigners to attend this meeting.