HC Deb 10 February 1943 vol 386 cc1301-2
31. Rear-Admiral Beamish

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether he is aware that a watcher-in-charge, coastguard service, who was, when going on duty on 10th December last, fired on and wounded by a sentry and who is still unfit for duty, received no pay to the end of January and now has been placed on half pay; what is the cause of this delay and treatment and will he prevent it in future?

Mr. Noel-Baker

I regret that, partly owing to difficulty in obtaining a statement from the injured man, there was delay in dealing with this case, and I am indebted to my hon. and gallant Friend for bringing it to my attention. My Ministry at first assumed that the disabled coastguard would be considered as having suffered a war injury, and that, in consequence, the Ministry of Pensions would grant the appropriate compensation. In order that he should not be left any longer unprovided for, we decided on 27th January that, pending a definite decision as to his rights, he should receive sick pay as from the date of the accident. We subsequently found that the coastguard could not be regarded as having suffered a war injury. My Ministry thereupon decided to pay him at the full workmen's compensation rate as from 11th December. I am consulting my right hon. Friend the First Lord of the Admiralty, in the hope that we may clarify the position of coastguards and may ensure that in future there shall be no undue delay in dealing with such questions as this.

Rear-Admiral Beamish

While thanking my hon. Friend for his reply, may I ask whether he does not agree that this is rather an unmerciful way in which to treat a man of that kind?

Mr. Noel-Baker

I think this man has suffered hardship, which I regret.

Sir Percy Harris

Why was the man regarded as not suffering a war injury?

Mr. Noel-Baker

Because the accident took place in circumstances similar to those in which a number of civilians have been injured, and it was decided that the civilians were not injured as a result of actual or imagined enemy attack.