§ 61. Mr. JOYNSON-HICKSasked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to the statement of Herr Cohn in the Reichstag last Thursday that there are still 28,000 Germans uninterned in England, while all the English civilians in Germany have been arrested; and whether he will consider the advisability of now carrying out the same policy here?
Mr. SAMUELMy attention had not been called to this statement, and, if it was made, it is not correct. I would refer the hon. Member to the figures I gave in the Debate on the Home Office Vote on 29th June last, from which he will see that the total number of persons of German and Austrian nationality, male and female, of all ages, at liberty here was about 22,000. Of these, 10,000 are women, 4,000 of the males are of friendly race, and a large proportion of the remainder are aged and infirm. As regards the internment of British subjects in Germany, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply he received from my right hon. Friend the Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs on 10th July, which, I understand, still holds good, and which does not accord with the statement quoted in the question.
§ Mr. JOYNSON-HICKSWould the right hon. Gentleman take the trouble to read the reports of the debate in the Reichstag in regard to this question and continue our policy on the same lines as the Germans?
Mr. SAMUELI am not challenging the accuracy of the hon. Member's quotation, but the original statement itself is not accurate.
§ Sir E. CARSONAre there any English subjects uninterned in Germany?
Mr. SAMUELThe Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs has stated in the answer which I have quoted that—
There are a number of women and men over fifty-five, and also a number of men of military age, most of whom have been released or exempted from internment on account of ill-health or because they are German in sentiment.
§ Sir E. CARSONDo you know the number?