§ Mr. Austin-WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the seizure of literature from the BNP headquarters in Welling earlier in the current year; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Charles WardleOn Thursday 9 January, the Metropolitan police searched the headquarters of the British National party. A search warrant had been granted in the belief that material inciting racial hatred might be found there.
A number of magazines were seized and submitted to the Crown prosecution service for advice as to whether the possession and distribution of them constituted offences under the Race Relations and Public Order Acts.
The police have been informed that, in counsel's opinion, the articles were insufficient to justify prosecution.
Number of defendants prosecuted at magistrates' courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under section 2 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 as amended by section 1 of the Obscene Publications Act 1964, 1981 to 1990 England and Wales 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 Total prosecuted 347 282 491 583 275 129 121 158 125 174 Total found guilty 211 234 370 429 226 126 93 130 96 116 Total sentenced 208 235 370 429 225 129 93 130 96 118 Absolute discharge — — 2 — 1 — — 3 — — Conditional discharge 10 9 6 13 11 3 4 8 1 5 Fine 136 128 248 291 130 80 63 77 53 57 Probation order — — 1 — 3 1 2 3 2 1 Community service order 2 1 3 3 4 1 4 1 1 4 Fully suspended sentence 39 39 60 77 50 20 10 17 17 30 Immediate custody 21 56 50 42 25 15 10 18 19 19 Otherwise dealt with — 2 — 3 1 9 — 3 3 2
§ Mrs. Ann WintertonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many items have been seized under section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959 by the Metropolitan police in each year of the last 10 years.
§ Mr. JackFigures for 1982 to 1984 are not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Figures for 1985 to 1992 are as follows:
Year Warrants executed Items seized 1985 52 286,511 1986 46 560,047 1987 90 813,243 1988 101 655,119 1989 166 356,478 1990 142 120,821 1991 116 34,696 11992 36 5,007 1January to May only. The decline in numbers of items seized, as opposed to the number of warrants executed, is accounted for by the