HC Deb 15 March 1915 vol 70 c1779
Mr. BUTCHER

I should like to make a personal explanation with regard to a passage in a speech I made on the 3rd inst. I referred to the case of a Mrs. Savile, of Beverley, against whom an order was made for removal from a prohibited area, which order was subsequently rescinded or withdrawn on certain terms. I stated, on the faith of information which had been furnished me, that the lady was an intimate friend of Admiral von Tirpitz, and that the Admiral's son was about to stay there when the War broke out. I am now assured, and I accept the statement, that she was not personally acquainted with the Admiral, but I am also told that it is true that some time before war broke out, at the request of a third person, the Admiral's son was invited to stay at the lady's house, but the visit never came off. The only other statement to which I wish to refer is this: I stated that on leaving Beverley last month the lady was last heard of at the Station Hotel at York, and I added that it was an admirable place for making observations on our troops if she desired to do so. I am now assured, on authority which I accept, that it is true the lady went to the Station Hotel at York intending to stop there for the night, but she was detained for a week by reason of illness. I thought it only right and fair to the lady and respectful to the House to make this correction of my statement as publicly as I made the original statement, and to express my regret that there was any inaccuracy in my former statement.