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Group 'not worried' by charter plane ban

Title: Group 'not worried' by charter plane ban
Date: Wednesday, 31 July 1968
Publisher: Evening News (Edinburgh)
Main source: link (62 KiB)

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Scientology students can still enter Britain to attend courses, despite turnarounds of charter aircraft bringing members of the cult into the country as ordered by the Government.

This was stated in Edinburgh today at the Hubbard College of Advanced Studies in South Bridge by public relations officer Laurel Watson.

She said they were not worried about the situation, and explained: "Many of the people who come here are on holiday or business trips by service aircraft. They are ordinary peopue and there is nothing to show any affiliation with us.

"Your immigration people could not possibly stop students from attending the centres. In an organisation whose object is to make people more able, we should be more able to get round the problem of the charter flights if we really wanted too."

Miss Watson added that at the moment there would be no further chartering of planes to bring students to Edinburgh. Arrangements would be made to give courses in America to those turned back.

ORDERED OUT

More than 40 scientology students who arrived at London's Heathrow Airport last night were ordered to fly home again. The group were questioned by immigration officials, then booked into hotels near the airport. Security guards were on duty at the hotels throughout the night.

Early today ten more students were flown to New York aboard a Pan Am jet. They had arrived at Heathrow on a B.O.A.C. flight.

Miss Watson defended the scientologists visiting Edinburgh.

"These people are fitting in their holiday with their courses," she said. We give brochures out about Edinburgh and encourage the students to go sightseeing.

"We are just ordinary people, and to try and stop members from coming into the country is stopping money from being spent here.

"If we really wanted to we could be real smart and get round all the regulations being used to try to stop us. We don't break any laws, and we abide by local conditions wherever we are in the world."