§ 71. Mr. Hargreavesasked the Secretary of State for War on what grounds he issued a certificate stating that, in his opinion, it was not in the public interest that the oral evidence of a member of the Soldiers', Sailors' and Airmen's Families Association should be given in the case of Broome versus Broome and Edmundson.
§ Mr. F. MacleanMy right hon. Friend issued the certificate to preserve, in the public interest, the confidential character of interviews between welfare officers, on the one hand, and soldiers and their wives on the other. The hon. Member will readily understand that soldiers and their wives cannot be expected to speak freely256W if they know that anything they say may later be given in evidence in legal proceedings.