§ Mr. Tebbitasked the Minister for the Civil Service if, pursuant to his reply 6th April to the hon. Member for Chertsey and Walton (Mr. Pattie) concerning the disqualification of persons having, or having had, Fascist or Communist sympathies for employment in the Civil Service on work the nature of which is vital to the security of the State, he will state to which countries, groups of countries, persons or organisations he thinks it likely that (a) persons of Fascist sympathies and (b) persons of Communist sympathies might betray secret matters.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisThe restrictions to which I referred in my reply of 6th April to the hon. Member for Chertsey and Walton (Mr. Pattie) are related to the security inquiries which are made about all civil servants and others who are to be employed on exceptionally secret work. The inquiries are designed to provide sufficient knowledge of an individual to enable a judgment to be made whether he or she may be entrusted with exceptionally secret information. Membership of any organisation, whether political or not, is inevitably part of the background to an individual. The point at issue is whether a positive judgment can be made that the individual is fitted for exceptionally secret work.