George Lincoln Rockwell, leader of the American Nazi Party, was being sought all over Britain today as the Home Office, which had officially banned his entry into this country, issued a pair of conflicting statements about his presence here.
It is known that Rockwell attended an encampment Sunday in rural Gloucestershire, conducted by Colin Jordan, leader of the British National Socialist Party. The American Nazi delivered a violent, anti-Semitic diatribe, and posed for photographs with Jordan, a Coventry school teacher dismissed last month for his advocacy of racism.
Henry Brooke, Home Secretary, had issued a statement declaring “we don’t know officially that he is in the country.” Today’s Daily Mirror, the daily newspaper with the largest circulation in Great Britain, ran a photograph showing Rockwell shaking hands with Jordan, and captioned the picture with a “Memorandum” to Mr. Brooke, stating: “That man is in Britain; here is the picture that proves it.” The Home Office then put out another statement, saying it “has every reason to believe Rockwell is in this country, and has entered through Shannon.” The latter is the name of an Irish airport.
Scotland Yard operatives, meanwhile, spread out over the country, looking for Rockwell who has, evidently, given Britain’s famed police establishment the slip since last night. In London and elsewhere, plainclothes policemen mingled with rush-hour crowds at all railroad stations and other terminals, in the hunt for the missing American Nazi.
Mr. Brooke was scheduled to go over Rockwell’s dossier today and to look into the details as to how the man had eluded immigration officers, as well as his present whereabouts. It is understood that, if he is found, the police will “ask” him to leave. Should he refuse, deportation proceedings would then be launched.
Most leading newspapers kept up a barrage of criticism against the Home Office today for letting Rockwell enter the country. “It is bewildering that there should be so much dithering about looking for this undesirable man and throwing him out,” said the Daily Herald. Other newspapers commented in the same vein.
Members of Parliament were as critical of the Government on this issue as was the press. Sir Barnett Janner demanded that Rockwell be found and “sent out of the country.” The Home Office laxity in the case was hit by Richard Marsh, Norman Dodds, Miss Alice Bacon and Fenner Brockway, all members of the Labor Party. Parliament is now in recess until October.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
