§ MR. O'DONNELLasked the Secretary of State for War, Whether the War Office has as yet ascertained the facts with regard to the recent ill treatment of an officer of the East Kent Militia; whether it is true that the ringleaders in the disturbance were not officers of the Militia but officers of the Line; and, whether the officers in question were ordered to apologise, and did apologise, to the officer of the East Kent Militia?
§ MR. CHILDERSThe matter to which the hon. Gentleman's Question refers has, as I informed the House on the 16th of June, been the subject of inquiry; end, although the newspaper report has made the most of what occurred, the whole proceeding is, in the opinion of the Duke of Cambridge, in which I concur, most unsatisfactory, and all the officers concerned, including two officers of the Line, have been severely censured. I think I ought to add that what are often, called practical jokes are, 1950 in our opinion, acts of silly and stupid vulgarity; and although in this case full apologies were tendered and accepted by the officers concerned, before our attention was called to the subject, I deem it right to warn those who may contemplate indulging in such practices that they must expect in future more severe treatment.