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nor ee 2 ee ee So ae - * toe ft often borderline cases, it is right fo continue the practice of lilting the balance in favour of offering greater protection to the security of the State rather than - sae Se eR me rc : ow we ae . i a . “OF i mee = ee 15. The Conference is of the opinion that in deciding these difficuh and in the direction of safeguarding the rights of the individual. They recommend that an individual who is living with a wife or husband who is a Communist - or a Communist sympathiser may, for that reason alone, have to be moved «... from sceret work, and that the same principle should be applied in other a ry 16. The Conference recognise that some of the measures which the _ State is driven to take to protect ils security are in some respects alien” — to our traditional practices. Thus, in order not to imperil sources of -. information, decisions have sometimes to be taken without revealing full details of the supporting evidence. Aguin, it is sometinies necessary to refuse to employ a man on sccret duties, or in those cases where no alternative work can be found for him in the public service, to refuse to employ him at all, ~~ ae becuuse after the fullest investigation doubts about his reliability remuain,- - even although nothing may have been proved aguinst him on standards which would be accepted in u Court of Law, The Conference agree. od . regretfully that (hese counter-measures, although they are distusicful in some ~~ respects, are essential if the security of the State is to be ensured. But they recognise that it is also important to convince public opinion that the measures tuken and the procedures in force will not be exercised unreasonably, For this reason the Conference approve the Tribunal (commonly known as the | Three Advisers) set up in 1948 to hear appeals from civil servants threatened - on securily grounds with transfer from secret dutics or, when that is not practicable, with dismissal from the Service. This machinery should continue; and the person whose continued employment in Government Service is called jn question on account of Communist association or - symputhies will be able to have his case considered by it. The Conference eles, wacpesemend othe aha @geemec nf cafearance af tha Three Advicare eaisu PRU LIERIRIL TERS RERGL cai \ qliitis wi JLILILIAe ak Rk eile OTS should be widened so as to enable them to present a fuller report to the responsible Minister, 17, The measures necessary to carry out these recomunendations will . involve alterations in existing procedures. These alterations will be notified to the staff associations concerned and an opportunity given for representation to be made before the alterations are promulgated in full. This paper is therefore confined to giving the broad details of the decisions reached on those recommendations which can be properly made public. . —._.... 18. Two other matters should be mentioned. The first-is that the Conference considered whether additional statutory powers should be sought to enable the Government to detain suspects or prevent them from leaving the country. 19. The Conference point out that, while an individual can be arrested’ on suspicion that he is about to attempt to convey secret information to a foreign Power, he must be brought before the courts on a charge without delay. The time required to collect evidence upon which a charge can be | based is often long, and the Conference dismiss any suggestion that power . should be sought to detain persons for an yntimited period without preferring charges against them, on the grounds that this would run counter to this country’s traditional principles of individual freedom, and would be most — unlikely to be approved by Parliament in time of peace. They also come to the conclusion that legislation which would permit arrest and detention, without a charge being preferred, for a short specified period, say, fourteen days, would not be much help. The Conference also consider that the . . 7 - + 4 ~ en bree +. ate . ct, ee nae ape i Te ee = rrr a A a tied Mae eaten an