§ 10. Mr. TOOTILLasked the Secretary of State for War whether Royal Engineer signallers who were with their draft at Tortona, near Genoa, had pressure brought to bear upon them to extend their term of military service; whether this pressure was exerted about mid-September; whether those men who declined to extend the period of their enlistment were sent to Budapest, Hungary, before the end of that month; whether the compulsory transfer is a punishment for their refusal to continue their military service; and what bearing their removal has upon the official promises?
§ Mr. FORSTERI am informed that no pressure was brought to bear upon any men to extend their term of military service. Three men were sent to Budapest, of whom one was a volunteer, while the other two were ineligible for demobilisation and had been given leave during the previous six months. There is no basis whatever for the suggestion that these men were sent to Budapest as a punishment for refusal to continue their military service.