§ 4. Mr. Gallacherasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that Mr. Robert Ghirlando, a British subject sentenced in Tripoli last March to three and a-half years' imprisonment for remarks hostile to the conduct of Italian troops in Abyssinia, is now released from prison; that in the meantime his business has been destroyed and he is destitute; and whether His Majesty's representatives in Tripoli will take steps to secure compensation for Mr. Ghirlando?
§ Mr. EdenAs I informed the hon. Member on 4th May last, Mr. Ghirlando, on the advice of his lawyers, did not appeal to the Higher Court, but forwarded a petition to the proper authorities for the cancellation or reduction of the sentence imposed upon him. As I informed my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Cleveland (Commander Bower) on 22nd June, the petition was successful and Mr. Ghirlando was released on 12th June. The course taken in this case by the petitioner precludes His Majesty's Government from taking steps to secure compensation; I am, however, doing what is possible to secure for Mr. Ghirlando an offer of alternative employment.