§ Lord Bethellasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether in their view the confiscation by the Soviet authorities of a copy of A History of Ilford sent by registered mail from the United Kingdom to the Soviet Union by Mr. Sidney Gabrel, was a violation of the Universal Postal Union Convention.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department of Trade and Industry) (Lord Lucas of Chilworth)As explained to my noble frend in my reply to him of 1 st July, the Soviet Union notification to the Universal Postal Union of prohibited articles is so widely drawn as to allow the Soviet authorities, in theory, to refuse entry or to confiscate items that we should consider quite innocuous. In our view, the Soviet Union's interpretation of the UPU Convention in this respect is unsatisfactory and we will continue to take every suitable opportunity to press the Soviet authorities to adopt a more reasonable attitude.