§ Mr. Kerrasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department under what category Dr. Kratochvil, former Czechoslovak Ambassador to Britain and India, was given a visa to come to this country; and what reasons there are for giving him 248W preference over other Czechoslovak refugees who have been in camps in Germany for some time.
§ Mr. EdeThe grant of a visa to Dr. Kratochvil was authorised because I was satisfied that it was in the public interest that he should be allowed to come to this country. As regards the admission of other Czechs, I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to the right hon. Member for Haltemprice (Mr. Law) on 3rd May, 1948. I then undertook to give sympathetic consideration to applications from certain classes of Czechs with special claims to come to this country, and some 1,400 Czechs have been allowed to settle here under this special arrangement, in addition to those who have come here under the Distressed Relatives Scheme and as European Volunteer Workers. Further, Czech refugees in Germany and Austria who are in the care of the International Refugee Organisation are eligible for consideration under the special scheme for the admission of 2,000 refugees which I announced in my reply to the hon. Member for Walthamstow, East (Mr. H. Wallace), on 4th May, 1950.