§ 83. Sir H. Williamsasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will inquire into the circumstances under which the Hackney Borough Council expelled, on 15th November, Mr. Keogh from a flat in the house in Lauriston Street, Hackney, of which Mr. Keogh was the owner.
§ Mr. MarplesMy right hon. Friend has made inquiries. The house was requisitioned in 1945 and converted into two flats. The present owners bought it in 1951. At their request the Council in October, 1952, considered releasing it, wholly or in part, but found themselves unable to do so. Mr. Keogh then forcibly entered the house and was evicted as a trespasser.
My right hon. Friend is doing all he can to expedite de-requisitioning and has much sympathy with owners who want their houses back, but they cannot be allowed to take the law into their own hands. In the circumstances of the case he does not think the Council could have acted in any other way than they did.