§ Mr. Torneyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his meeting on 2 March with the Simon Wiesenthal's organisation regarding the presence in the United Kingdom of alleged Nazi war criminals; and what action he proposes to take in the light of his meeting.
§ Mr. HurdI had a valuable meeting with representatives of the Simon Wiesenthal centre who explained the background to their recent submission of the names of 17 alleged war criminals and invited us to establish special machinery to investigate these allegations. I explained that our courts have no jurisdiction over the alleged offences698W and that we have no extradition arrangement with the Soviet Union, where the alleged offences took place. I urged the centre to provide information to substantiate their allegations, as the case for any change in the law would depend on the weight of evidence brought forward. Meanwhile we are continuing our inquiries into the documentary material cited by the centre; the whereabouts of those named by the centre; and the statements which they made following their entry into the country and when applying for British citizenship.