§ 8. Captain LOSEBYasked the Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been called to the expenses incurred during their captivity in Turkey by officers of the Indian Army taken prisoner at Kut and elsewhere; what sum, if any, was fixed by him and approved by the Treasury as fair and reasonable compensation; and whether this sum has since been reduced by the action of the War Office?
§ Mr. MONTAGUThe answer to the first part of my hon. and gallant Friend's question is in the affirmative. No sum was fixed by myself as compensation, but the War Office (on whose funds the charges fall), after consultation with the India Office, obtained the agreement of the Treasury to the payment of compensation within certain maxima rates to all British officers, whether of the British or Indian Service, who were prisoners of war in Turkey. The War Office decided to pay British Service officers a fixed percentage of the maximum without further inquiry, and authorised the India Office to do the same in the case of Indian Army officers. Further payments will be made in due course if investigation shows them to be justified.