HC Deb 11 November 1919 vol 121 c227
33. Mr. GRATTAN DOYLE

asked the Home Secretary if his attention has been called to the widespread dissatisfaction at the fact that numbers of enemy aliens who have been interned since the commencement of the War have been allowed to resume their businesses in this country; and if he will state how many enemy aliens have been repatriated and how many have been allowed to resume their pre-war activities here?

Mr. SHORTT

I think that any dissatisfaction there may be of the nature indicated in the first paragraph of the question is largely due to exaggeration or misunderstanding of the facts. There were at one time 32,200 alien enemies interned; at the date of the Armistice the number was reduced to 24,450. Of these, some 3,800 were after examination by Lord Justice Younger's Committee, exempted from repatriation and allowed to remain in this country. The rest, except a few who are now Poles or other alien friends, have been repatriated.

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