Minutes of the Twelfth Meeting of the Committee (Deputy Directors) Held in Conference Room "G", at the Ministry of Defence, S.W.1. on Wednesday, 1st February, 1950, at 11.00 a.m.

3. INTERROGATION OF REFUGEES FOR INTELLIGENCE PURPOSES SECRET (Previous Reference: J.I.C. (48) 106 (Final)). BRIGADIER BOUCHER said that the War Office had received information from the Foreign Office regarding two Polish stowaways who had arrived in this country but had been shipped away without the intelligence authorities having an opportunity of interrogating them. The War Office considered that it was important that no opportunity should be lost of interrogating unheralded arrivals in this country from Russia or the Satellite countries, and they suggested, therefore, that unless steps were taken to ensure that the intelligence authorities were notified in all cases of the arrival of stowaways and refugees who may have been in "Iron Curtain" countries, a certain amount of intelligence might be missed. It was possible that the action in the case of the two Polish stowaways to which he had previously referred had resulted from a misunderstanding by the Immigration Authorities of the intelligence requirements. CAPTAIN LIDDELL said that the existing machinery should be adequate to ensure that all cases of unheralded arrivals who had been in "Iron Curtain" countries were reported to the intelligence authorities. He asked, therefore, if the Security Service could be given details regarding the two Polish stowaways who were shipped away without interrogation, so that the matter could be investigated. THE COMMITTEE:- Invited the Foreign Office to supply the Security Service with details of the two cases referred to by the War Office of stowaways who were shipped away from the United Kingdom without notification to the intelligence authorities. Ministry of Defence, S.W.1. 1st February, 1950. -2-