§ 41. Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister for Posts and Telecommunications whether he will issue a general direction to the Post Office to take action to stop its present practice of confiscating mail sent to Members of Parliament, details of which have been supplied to him.
§ Sir J. EdenNo. I understand that the Post Office action relates to letters bearing labels on the front which are prohibited in the post under paragraph 8 (2) (e) of the Post Office Inland Post Scheme 1972. In accordance with long-established practice and by virtue of the powers given it by the Post Office Acts 1953 and 1969, the Post Office is either returning such letters to the sender, if his address can be ascertained, or treating them as undeliverable. I can assure the hon. Member that the Post 20W Office is not acting under direction from any Minister and that mail addressed to Members of Parliament is not being singled out for attention. The Post Office tells me that its objection is to any label stuck on the front of an envelope, irrespective of the message it contains, and that no action is taken when the labels in question are affixed to the back.