HC Deb 17 June 1953 vol 516 c58W
29. Mr. Ernest Davies

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what reply he has received from the Spanish Government to the representations made on 29th March, 1951, and on five subsequent occasions, in regard to religious persecution in which British interests were involved; and what further action he proposes to take.

Mr. Nutting

Of the five cases in Spain dealt with in my right hon. and learned Friend's reply to the hon. Member for Lincoln (Mr. de Freitas) on 10th June, the Canadian-owned chapel in Madrid is now the concern of the newly-opened Canadian Embassy at Madrid. In the cases of the ill-treatment of Mrs. Stuart Brown and of the attack on the chapel at Seville the Spanish authorities have expressed their regrets and have punished or are taking action against the offenders.

We shall continue to press for action in the two remaining cases of the closure of Evangelical chapels and the ban on the importation of Bibles.