HC Deb 18 May 1933 vol 278 cc523-5
62. Mr. COCKS

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any further information regarding the case of Mr. Geoffrey Fraser?

Sir J. SIMON

His Majesty's Ambassador at Berlin mentioned the case of Mr. Fraser persoNaily to Herr Hitler on 11th May, and on 13th May the German Foreign Minister addressed to Sir Horace Rumbold a note stating that it had been decided not to continue any further the proceedings against Mr. Fraser, who was being released that day; but that as he was still under grave suspicion of having committed an offence under paragraph 3 of a Presidential decree of 21st March last he had been ordered to leave Germany.

Mr. COCKS

As this British subject has been in prison without trial for six weeks, will the British Government consider demanding compensation for the material loss and the mental anguish which he has undergone?

Sir J. SIMON

I do not know what mental anguish the hon. Member refers to.

Mr. COCKS

Would not the right hon. Gentleman suffer mental anguish if he were locked up in a prison in Berlin for six weeks with the possibility of a Hitlerite coming at any time of the day or night?

60. Mr. HICKS (for Mr. RHYS DAVIES)

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can state the nature of the explanations given by the German Government to the five British subjects recently arrested and released; what further steps are being taken in the case of Mr. Mann, arrested and released without explanation; whether compensation has been demanded for wrongful arrest in these cases; and whether any further arrests of British subjects have occurred in Germany Since?

Sir J. SIMON

Since the date of the reply given to the hon. Member on the 3rd of May, all the British subjects under detention in Germany have been released. I will, with the hon. Member's permission, circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement regarding these cases. In the case of Mr. Mann I have nothing to add to the replies given on the 27th of April and the 1st of May to the right hon. and gallant Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Colonel Wedgwood) and the hon. Member for Broxtowe (Mr. Cocks). The replies to the third and fourth parts of this question are in the negative.

Mr. HICKS

Has there been any attempt made to claim compensation for those who have been wrongly arrested?

Sir J. SIMON

No, Sir; I would like to say that naturally that question is considered with sympathy, but we must remember that if a man has been arrested under the due process of law and has been released, those facts themselves would not justify a claim by one Government for compensation against another.

Following is the statement:

Mr. Tendulkar.—The German Minister for Foreign Affairs informed His Majesty's Ambassador that the competent German authorities had satisfied themselves that he had been closely con- nected with the German Communist party, and that he had therefore been ordered to leave the country.

Mr. Catchpool.—The German Minister for Foreign Affairs informed His Majesty's Ambassador that he had been arrested "for spreading untrue information," but, as stated in reply to the hon. Member for Broxtowe on 10th April, he was released on the day following his arrest.

Messrs. Jowitt and Casson.—These members of the Halifax Hockey Club were detained for one day at Emmerich on a charge of insulting behaviour of a political nature (misuse of Nazi emblems). They were released after His Majesty's Consul-General at Cologne had communicated with the local authorities.

Mr. Tagore.—The explanation given by the Bavarian authorities to His Majesty's Consul-General at Munich for Mr. Tagore's arrest was stated in reply to the hon. Member for Broxtowe on 1st May. His Majesty's Consul-General was subsequently informed by the Bavarian authorities that the suspicions on which Mr. Tagore had been detained had proved upon closer examination to be unfounded and that he was therefore released at the earliest possible moment. As Mr. Tagore left immediately for Paris and did not communicate with His Majesty's Consul-General, the latter was unable to give any information as to the reasons for his arrest or the circumstances in which it took place beyond that furnished to him by the Bavarian authorities.

Mr. Gupta.—The police authorities in Berlin informed His Majesty's Consul that Mr. Gupta had been arrested on suspicion of activities detrimental to the State, and, subsequently, that although they considered that he had been engaged in Communistic activities, it had been decided not to prefer a charge against him, more particularly as he had undertaken to leave the country. He was in fact deported to England.

Mr. Howard was sentenced to four weeks' imprisonment for libelling German Post Office officials. As Mr. Howard accepted this sentence no further action is called for.

Mr. Fraser's case is dealt with in reply to a question by the hon. Member for Broxtowe on to-day's Order Paper.

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