Queen to rescue

Press, 23 February 1978, Page 17

Queen to rescue

The Queen has sent a message to a battered wife in the Chiswick women’s aid refuge, run by Mrs Erin Pizzey (this page, February 14), and assured her that there will be no evictions of mothers and their children. She has deplored the continuing dispute between the refuge and Hounslow Borough Council. Mrs Pizzey says that she is “absolutely delighted with the response from Buckingham Palace.” Mrs Susan Nicholls, who has three children, prompted the Buckingham Palace letter by w’riting to the Queen last month. The

reply, from a private secretary, says that the Queen is “most concerned about the plight of battered women, and pleased that since 1972 when Mrs Pizzey founded the first refuge at Chiswick much had been done to help alleviate the problem.” “It is most unfortunate there should still be disagreement between Chiswick women’s aid and the London borough of Hounslow, but this is not a situation in which Her Majesty can personally intervene. She has been assured, however, there is no question of residents being evicted.”

Buckingham Palace officials say: “When the Queen receives letters like this she lakes advice from one of her Ministers, in this case from the Department of Health and Social Security.” .Mrs Pizzey bad been convicted last October under the Public Health Act of overcrowding at the refuge. She said she had been worried that the Hounslow council might use a control order to evict some of the residents. She was allowed to have only 36 women staying there and at present had about 59.