§ 26. Commander BELLAIRSasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will appoint an official of the Foreign Office to examine affidavits by five refugees who have escaped from Russia to Finland, sworn to before the public notary of the city of Helsingfors, in the Russian and Finnish languages, with certified translations by the public translator, in order that the Foreign Office may be satisfied as to the numbers of prisoners that are employed in the Soviet Russian timber trade in lumbering and carting work, sawing as well as loading timber into British and foreign ships?
Mr. A. HENDERSONMy right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade stated on the 21st January that he had not received any complaint from any section of industry in this country on this matter. Should any such formal complaint be forthcoming, I would be willing to submit to the competent authorities in this country any relevant evidence which may be brought to my notice.
§ Commander BELLAIRSIs the right hon. Gentleman not answering Question 27 instead of 26?
§ Commander BELLAIRSI am asking whether the Government will send an official to examine the affidavits, and the right hon. Gentleman invites me to supply him with evidence. I am willing to supply it.
§ Captain CROOKSHANKSince when has it been the practice of the Government only to attend to representations made by industries and not those made by hon. Members of this House?
§ 27. Commander BELLAIRSasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will communicate with other countries with a view to the exclusion of products sent from Soviet Russia that are the product of prison labour or that come from the segregation camps into which the peasants are being drafted under compulsion?