§ 32. Sir William Davisonasked the Under-Secretary of State for War what is the present position with regard to the transfer to Switzerland of prisoners of war who are suffering from tuberculosis?
§ 31. Brigadier-General Clifton Brownasked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that certain of our prisoners suffering from tuberculosis in German camps had been promised to be removed to Switzerland for expert treatment; that this arrangement has now 1337 been cancelled; and whether he will again press through the Red Cross or otherwise for the transfer of our prisoners suffering from tuberculosis to Switzerland from German prison camps?
§ Mr. SandysI am not aware of the promise referred to by my hon. and gallant Friend. All British prisoners of war in Germany who are suffering from tuberculosis—with the exception of two, whose cases were the subject of a recent protest—have been sent to a special, hospital in the Saxon Alps, of which I have received favourable reports.
§ Sir W. DavisonIs my hon. Friend aware that I have seen a copy of a letter from the War Office, to the parents of a soldier who had been promised that he should go to Switzerland, saying that he could not go because the War Office had ceased to press the Germans to send him there? Why has the policy of the War Office been changed in this matter?
§ Mr. SandysI can explain this to my hon. Friend, but I do not think this is a matter which we should discuss in open Session.
§ Mr. BellengerWas it not the case that these unfortunate individuals were sent to Switzerland, to their benefit, in the last war, and cannot we adopt the same policy now?
§ Mr. SandysAll who are suffering from tuberculosis in a serious form are in fact eligible for repatriation.