§ 9. Mr. CLOUGHasked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that one of the British prisoners recently released from Baku has since died, chiefly owing to ill-treatment received whilst in captivity; whether he can report on the condition of these prisoners when released; and whether any steps have been or are to be taken to impress on the Government responsible that British subjects may not with impunity be submitted to barbarous and degrading treatment by any foreign Power?
Mr. HARMSWORTHI regret to state that one of the naval prisoners from Baku died in England not long after his repatriation, but I am not in a position to state the cause of his death, as the report which has been called for from his doctor has not yet come to hand. As regards the second part of the question, His Majesty's representative at Tiflis reported that the prisoners were all in good health on arrival there from Azerbaijan. I sympathise with the view expressed in the last part of the question, but I do not think that any useful purpose would be served by making the suggested pronouncement.