§ Mr. Purbrickasked the Home Secretary why, in view of the fact that the position of a Member of Parliament is one of national importance, he refuses to grant exit permits to them to leave England when they consider that their duty as such warrants it?
§ Mr. H. MorrisonAs I have explained to my hon. Friend in the correspondence which has recently passed between us, the view of His Majesty's Government is that the war-time restrictions on travel to neutral countries should apply to Members of Parliament no less than to other persons. I, therefore, felt obliged to refuse his application for a permit to visit Eire primarily for a change of air and environment, but I intimated that I should be very glad to reconsider the matter, if he wished to base his application on some ground of public advantage.