§ 101. Sir W. Wakefieldasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what representations he has made to the French authorities about the case of two British touring motorists, Mr. D. H. Walters and Mr. G. A. Smith, who were arrested at gunpoint, manhandled, charged with attempted murder, and held for five days in solitary confinement in Dijon Prison on the ground that they failed to stop when signalled to by a policeman ; about the fact that they were not permitted to contact Her Majesy's Consul-General at Lyons ; and asking why the 168W French authorities did not notify Her Majesty's Consul-General at Lyons immediately, as required to do under Article 25 of the Anglo-French Consular Convention of 31st December, 1951 ; what reply he has received to these representations ; and what steps it is proposed to take to ensure that British subjects, when touring in France, are not subjected to similar treatment.
§ Mr. Dodds-ParkerHer Majesty's Embassy in Paris has made representations to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, drawing their attention to the breach of Article 25 of the Anglo-French Consular Convention which provides that Her Majesty's Consular officers shall be informed immediately by the appropriate local authorities when any British subject is arrested in France. The Embassy has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their observations on this case but so far no reply has been received.
The case against these two men was not only that they failed to stop when signalled to do so, but that they nearly ran over a gendarme, drove at excessive speed and resisted arrest. Before the trial a charge of violence was substituted for that of attempted murder.