HC Deb 06 March 1952 vol 497 cc77-9W
106. Mr. F. Longden

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if his attention has been called to the case of a Birmingham man whose car was stolen from the premises of the Tardebridge County Club, Redditch, by Borstal boys from an institution opposite the club, during the night of 22nd-23rd February; that the car was hidden in the grounds of the institution for six days and the number-plates repainted, the ignition rewired, and aerial disconnected, after which the boys drove the

last three years within the Metropolitan Police District; and how much was recovered.

Sir D. Maxwell Fyfe

The following are the figures for thefts of tobacco and foodstuffs valued at £1,000 or more in the Metropolitan Police District during the years 1949–51.

car to Bristol, where it was recovered by the police; and if he will give an explanation of the lack of control and observation on the part of authorities of this institution.

Sir D. Maxwell Fyfe

On 16th February three inmates of Hewell Grange Borstal institution brought into the grounds of the institution a car which they had taken from a nearby country club and hid it behind bales of hay in an isolated barn, where it remained undiscovered until they drove in it to Bristol on 22nd February. I much regret the trouble caused by this escapade, but my inquiries do not show that the authorities at the Borstal were negligent. The boys have considerable freedom of movement in their own time within the bounds of this "open" Borstal, and once the car had been hidden there was nothing to excite suspicion on the part of the authorities.