§ 5. Sir WILLIAM DAVISONasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will ask the British Minister in Moscow to ascertain the approximate number of persons who are employed in Russia under the categories of forced labour, mobilised labour, labour in places of incarceration, and public labour; and whether any goods consigned to Great Britain are produced by workers under any of these categories?
Mr. A. HENDERSONI have addressed to His Majesty's Ambassador at Moscow a despatch inquiring whether any statistics of the nature suggested in the first part of the question are available. As regards the second part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the 25th of November to the hon. and gallant Member for Bournemouth (Sir H. Croft).
§ Sir W. DAVISONIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that statistics are available for 1928 showing that some 260,000 persons were sentenced to forced labour, and could he not get similar statistics for 1929, or some more recent date?
§ Mr. MUGGERIDGECould we know the same figure for any part of the British Empire?
§ Mr. SPEAKERThat does not arise out of the question.