§ 24 Mr. LEES-SMITHasked the Home Secretary (1) whether he is aware that at Grimsby recently women have been charged under the new Regulation 40 d of the Defence of the Realm Act for soliciting a soldier while having venereal disease, and have been sent to prison without the soldier alleged to have been solicited appearing to give evidence; what action he proposes to take; (2) whether, in recent cases at East-bourne and Newport Pagnell, women charged under Regulation 40 d of the Defence of the Realm Act with having sexual intercourse with a soldier while having venereal disease have had their names and addresses published while the name of the infected soldier has been withheld; if so, whether he will give instructions that either the names of both the man and the woman be published or both be kept private; (3) whether he is aware that a woman at Oxford about 24th April and another woman a); Cambridge about 30th April were charged under Regulation 40 d; that military evidence was offered against them and in neither case was it proved by medical examination, etc., to which the women had to submit; that each woman was discharged, and that the prosecutions involved loss of employment, medical examinations, prison treatment, costs of lawyers, etc., and that no apology or redress was offered; and whether he has had reports on these cases?
§ Mr. BRACENone of the cases mentioned in these questions have come to-the notice of the Home Office. I am making inquiry with regard to them.