§ Mr. Arnold Shawasked the Attorney-General if the Director of Public Prosecutions intends to institute criminal proceedings against the Anti-Nazi League for distributing leaflets during the course of the Bournemouth, East parliamentary by-election.
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§ The Attorney-GeneralThe Director of Public Prosecutions has carefully considered this case with the assistance of counsel and has decided that it is not a suitable case for prosecution. It is, however, desirable to emphasise that the issuing of advertisements, circulars or publications or the incurring of other expense with a view to disparaging a candidate at a Parliamentary or local election may constitute an offence under section 63 of the Representation of the People Act, 1949, if the expense is incurred by a person other than a candidate at that election, his election agent or a person so authorised in writing by the election agent. In particular, in a Parliamentary or local by-election, the incurring of such expense for the purpose of attacking the candidate of a particular political party is likely to be an offence if it has not been so authorised. Organisations whose policy it is to intervene in by-elections in this way should be warned that they may be at risk of committing offences against election law.