§ 20. Mr. Wedgwoodasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the commandant of the Fascist internment camp in the Isle of Man has been changed; whether the free unlimited entry of food and drink has been restored; whether the police replace the military or are supplementary; and what is the weekly cost per head to the British taxpayer for housing, feeding and guarding these interned British subjects?
§ The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Herbert Morrison)The internal administration of the camp at Peel has now been taken over by the Metropolitan Police, with the consequence that the former military Commander has been released for other duties, but a military guard outside the Peel Camp is being retained. As regards the entry of food, this is subject to the restrictions explained in my answer to the hon. Member for the Rusholme Division (Mr. Radford) on 2nd instant. Drink cannot be sent in to any detainee, but beer can be purchased from the canteen in the camp. The average daily consumption per head does not exceed a quarter of a pint, and there is no ground for any suggestion of excessive drinking. I regret that it is not possible to give precise figures of weekly cost such as my right hon. Friend desires.
§ Mr. WedgwoodNow that the Home Office have taken over this particular camp, is there any prospect of their taking over the other camps in which friendly aliens are interned?
§ Mr. MorrisonI think the right hon. Gentleman is under a misapprehension. All these camps are under the jurisdiction of the Home Office, but we use the military for the purpose of giving general assistance outside the camps, and I do not think it is necessary to take further action.
§ Mr. WedgwoodAre the Commandants of other camps military officers or your officials?
§ Mr. MorrisonSpeaking from recollection, I believe they are my officials.
§ 21. Mr. Stokesasked the Home Secretary how many of the 700 odd persons, detained in the Isle of Man camp at which a disturbance recently occurred, were members of the British Union of Fascists; and how many of the persons transferred, prior to 8th October, as a result to prison in this country, were members of that organisation?
§ Mr. MorrisonThe number of detainees in this camp was 520, of whom 180 were former members of the British Union. Of the 18 persons removed to prison after the disturbance, 14 belonged to that organisation.
§ Mr. StokesIs the Minister able to say whether the disturbance was largely the responsibility of one section of those in the camp, or was it of a general nature?
§ Mr. MorrisonI do not think everybody took part in the disturbances, but a substantial number did, and owing to the fact that it was dark, we could not see the political colours of all of them. The facts which I have given are reliable, and my hon. Friend can draw his own deductions from them.
§ 22. Mr. Stokesasked the Home Secretary how many of the three men who escaped from the Isle of Man internment camp were members of the Irish Republican Army?
§ Mr. MorrisonTwo of the men who are at present awaiting trial have stated in court that they were members of the Irish Republican Army.
§ Mr. StokesWill the Minister consider the possibility of returning them to their own country, where large numbers of. men of that Army are already under detention?
§ Mr. MorrisonThere are arguments both ways on that point, and I should not like to commit myself.
§ Mr. LeslieIs it not the case that while they may be members of the Irish Republican Army, they may also be Fascists?
§ Mr. MorrisonIt might be so.