§ 5. Mr. OSWALD LEWISasked the Secretary of State for India whether his attention has been called to the fact that when an Indian civilian was recently accidentally killed by a rifle bullet fired by a British soldier in the North-West Frontier Province the chief commissioner of the province immediately offered monetary compensation; and whether he will take steps to see that when British soldiers called out in aid of the civil authorities are killed by Indian civilians similar compensation is afforded in their case?
§ Mr. BENNAs I have already explained, the case of a soldier whose death is directly attributable to service wherever performed is treated in precisely the same way as that of a soldier 5 killed on active service, and the regulations already provide for awards to the dependants under certain conditions.
§ Mr. LEWISAm I to understand that, where the civil authorities are unable to keep order and British troops are called in to do so for them, the British taxpayer has to bear the burden of any compensation—
§ Mr. SPEAKERThe hon. Member cannot expect to have an answer to that question.