§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis on the circumstances in which an individual, whose name and address have been supplied to him, who was judicially declared to have been wrongly charged and who has made complaints against the 453W police which are currently under investigation, was stopped in his van and held for several hours in a police station, whether he will seek to ensure that such actions are prevented in future; and if he will take steps to expedite the police investigations;
(2) when an individual whose name and address has been supplied to him had his sentence quashed; what compensation or ex gratiapayment has been offered for his wrongful imprisonment; why the police still have this man's file when all charges and convictions were quashed; and whether he will take action to ensure that conviction records shall be destroyed forthwith.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesAs my hon. Friend has already been informed, I do not feel justified, on present information, in authorising anex gratiapayment to the person concerned in respect of the convictions against him which were quashed by the
454W
1st April 1974 31st December 1974 1974 Force Establishment 1 Strength 2 Establishment 1 Strength 2 Recruitement 3 Wastage 4 Net Recruitement 5 Metropolitan 25,999 20,756 26,628 20,850 1,208 1,019 +189 City of London 1,021 794 1,028 784 26 34 -8 Avon and Somerset 2,868 2,565 2,868 2,583 118 112 +6 Bedfordshire 890 760 890 789 67 37 +30 Cambridgeshire 1,023 940 1,023 972 67 33 +34 Cheshire 1,770 1,485 1,770 1,590 123 85 +38 Cleveland 1,410 1,293 1,411 1,288 73 74 -1 Cumbria 1,074 998 1,074 1,017 62 43 +19 Derbyshire 1,559 1,388 1,559 1,434 118 87 +31 Devon and Cornwall 2,573 2,518 2,573 2,572 140 80 +60 Dorset 1,088 1,001 1,089 1,041 79 60 +19 Durham 1,371 1,246 1,371 1,262 75 63 +12 DyfedPowys 866 813 866 850 59 24 +35 Essex 2,436 2,118 2,436 2,168 123 61 +62 Gloucestershire 1,007 904 1,007 957 70 31 +40 Greater Manchester 6,600 5,585 6,600 5,544 229 244 -15 Gwent 928 885 928 907 57 42 +15 Hampshire 2,844 2,616 2,844 2,669 152 116 +36 Hertfordshire 1,472 1,274 1,472 1,321 105 61 +44 Humberside 1,910 1,683 1,910 1,682 73 89 -16 Kent 2,454 2,190 2,454 2,233 183 135 +48 Lancashire 2,880 2,743 2,880 2,842 170 90 +80 Leicestershire 1,602 1,489 1,603 1,557 131 69 +62 Lincolnshire 1,174 1,083 1,174 1,134 85 50 +35 Merseyside 4,317 3,864 4,317 3,852 193 192 +1 Norfolk 1,218 1,128 1,218 1,155 53 39 +14 Northamptonshire 844 761 844 819 99 45 +54 Northumbria 3,322 3,094 3,322 3,083 124 149 -25 North Wales 1,216 1,121 1,216 1,147 80 56 +24 North Yorkshire 1,277 1,179 1,277 1,209 74 64 +10 Nottinghamshire 2,056 1,953 2,066 1,999 140 98 +42 South Wales 2 886 2,758 2,886 2,825 165 110 +55 South Yorkshire 2,652 2,319 2,752 2,321 113 105 +8 Staffordshire 2,064 1,877 2,066 1,926 95 71 +24 Suffolk 1,070 989 1,077 971 40 51 -11 Surrey 1,393 1,263 1,438 1,275 90 67 +23 Sussex 2,618 2,440 2,661 2,561 225 111 +114 Thames Valley 2,960 2,714 2,960 2,747 206 169 +37 Court of Appeal on 29th November 1976. I have asked the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis for a report on the incident in which the person concerned was stopped whilst travelling in a van, and on the other matters raised by my hon. Friend, and will write to him as soon as this has been received and considered.