§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the shortage of police manpower and the need to economise on costs, he will issue a general directive that Ministers should not have motor police escorts or motor-cycle outriders, when attending to normal Ministerial duties; on how many occasions this has happened during the past three months; and what were the reasons for tie use of public funds for this purpose.
§ The Prime MinisterThe answer to the first part of the Question is "No".
I cannot answer the second part without detailed, and expensive, inquiry, but I understand that in the Metropolitan Police District there have been three occasions in the past three months.
The Answer to the third part is that the use of escorts is justifiable where heavy traffic would otherwise cause serious delay. Normally, of course, the provision of escorts results in little or no additional cost to public funds.