61. Mr. Gresham Cookeasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the two recent cases of discourtesy, details of which have been given to him, and in the interests of the good name of this country and of the tourist industry, he will now instruct immigration officers at all times to show courtesy and consideration towards foreign tourists visiting this country.
§ Mr. George ThomasThough the hon. Member has furnished details of two complaints, one of them was only received by me yesterday. I have not had time to make the necessary enquiries but these are being set in hand and I will write to the hon. Member in due course. The other complaint was the subject of thorough inquiry, the results of which were communicated to the hon. Member on 6th May. No discourtesy was disclosed, but the passenger concerned should have been dealt with more expeditiously, and an appropriate apology was made.
My right hon. and learned Friend attaches great importance to the prompt and courteous clearance of all travellers through the controls at our ports, and immigration officers receive careful instruction to that end in the course of training. It appears to my right hon. and learned Friend that in general they carry out their difficult duties with noteworthy tact and discretion.