HC Deb 25 July 1938 vol 338 c2726W
Mr. Thurtle

asked the Home Secretary whether he will cause inquiries to be made as to the reason why the police authorities caused an open air meeting, conducted by the Communist party in the evening of 1st July at the corner of Mansfield Street and Great Cambridge Street, Shoreditch, to be brought to an end?

Sir S. Hoare

The Commissioner of Police has already supplied me with a report on this meeting. It appears that when the meeting had been in progress for nearly two hours a large number of persons, estimated at about 1,500, who had been attending a Fascist meeting in the neighbourhood, crowded round the speaker and attempted to shout him down. The police had good reason to believe that breaches of the peace would occur if the meeting continued, and in order to prevent serious disorder they asked the speaker to close the meeting. The speaker complied with this request and the crowd then dispersed in an orderly manner.