HC Deb 21 November 1963 vol 684 cc118-9W
43. Mr. Biggs-Davison

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is Her Majesty's Government's policy regarding the recruitment of members of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament to Civil Defence; to what extent Civil Service personnel are bound by the Official Secrets Act; and what reports he has received from Essex and elsewhere of Civil Defence officers engaging in propaganda against Her Majesty's Government's defence policy.

Mr. Brooke

I know of no reason why a member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament who genuinely wishes to help in the humanitarian work of civil defence should not do so. As to the second part of the Question, broadly, anyone who receives classified information is bound by the Official Secrets Acts. My hon. Friend may have in mind reports which appeared in the Press about the part played in recent C.N.D. activities by a member of the Civil Defence Corps. I have had a brief report on that case from the Civil Defence Corps authority concerned, and the authority is looking further into the matter.