asked the Postmaster-General by what authority his Department opened and returned to the sender certain correspondence posted in the Liverpool area sealed on the reverse with a label issued by the Conservative Party.

I much regret that, owing to an unfortunate misunderstanding of the rules by the local post office staff at Liverpool, the correspondence to which the hon. Member refers was returned to the sender. An apology for the mistreatment has already been tendered locally, and with that apology I would like to be associated.

Would it be some consolation to the right hon. Gentleman, in view of his very handsome apology, to know that the envelopes in question fetched a price of between £2 and £4 when sold by the Conservative Party to a local stamp dealer?