51. Mr. Creech Jonesasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the places and conditions of detention of political persons arrested under the emergency regulations in Palestine; how they are lodged; their conditions of life; and whether, apart from the magistrates, anyone has power to inflict punishment on any person detained?
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreThe great majority of these persons are detained in a concentration camp at Acre, and the remainder are detained in Acre Jail and a few in various police lock-ups throughout the country. At the Acre camp there is hutment accommodation of a satisfactory standard. No complaints have been received with regard to health and sanitary arrangements in the prisons and lock-ups. I have no special information as regards the point raised in the last part of the question, but I assume that prison officers have authority to deal with any breaches of discipline.
Mr. Creech JonesWill the right hon. Gentleman make further inquiries into these very grave charges in regard to the conditions, particularly in the prison, of people who have not yet been charged at all, but are merely under preventive detention; and will he also make representations that the warders in charge should have no authority to inflict punishment except by order of the district magistrate?
§ Mr. Ormsby-GoreThe vast majority of these people are detenus, people not charged, but suspected. They are in a special camp, and only a few are in the jail, which is the Acre Jail, a long-established jail. I am quite sure that the supervision and the conduct of warders in Palestine is very carefully watched.