HC Deb 06 July 1943 vol 390 cc1925-7
9. Mr. Grenfell

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he has received further information regarding men who were formerly detained as prisoners of war in P.G. 154 and who were subsequently removed to Italy; whether communication has been re-established with all men who have been removed to other camps; and whether, in the case of men who have not been located, he is still pursuing inquiries through the agency of the Protecting Power, in order that missing men may be traced and brought into communication with their relatives and friends in this country?

Mr. A. Henderson

I regret that I have nothing to add to the answer I gave on 22nd June to my hon. Friend the Member for Peckham (Mr. Silkin). Inquiries are, of course, still being made through the Protecting Power.

Mr. Grenfell

Is there any confirmation of the story that the lives of many of these men were lost in transit to the mainland from North Africa?

Mr. Henderson

We have had reports from a number of survivors. The difficulty is that we are not aware of the identity of those who were originally in camp 154, and that is why it is difficult to give detailed information in relation to those who may have been there.

Mr. Grenfell

Will my hon. and learned Friend pursue the inquiry in order to establish, from their associates, whether those who were known to have been in camp 154 are likely to be alive or not?

Mr. Henderson

Inquiries are still being made, and, if necessary, inquiries along those lines will be made.

34. Mr. Burke

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will cause inquiries to be made into conditions at prison Campo 51 and 70 in Italy, as, according to reports of repatriated prisoners food supplies are below standard and the accommodation provided does not give protection from climatic changes?

Mr. Henderson

Camp 51 is a transit camp for prisoners of war arriving in Italy and is believed to be unoccupied, all British prisoners of war having been transferred to permanent camps, in which conditions are appreciably better. I am informed that the stoves ordered for Camp 70 were not installed last winter, but I hope that the representations about the heating of camps in Italy, which have led to improvements at other camps, will have the same result at this camp. I am not aware that the food supplied by the Italians at Camp 70 is below the standard at other Italian camps. Food parcels sufficient to give each prisoner one parcel a week since the beginning of the year have been despatched from Geneva and I have no reason to suppose they have not reached the camp. I will, however, have further inquiries made.

Mr. Burke

Has the Minister not seen the reports circulating in all parts of the country from men who have been repatriated about the conditions in these camps, especially about Camp 51, where, it is said, men have been for 14 weeks in tents under a tropical sun by day and at nighttime in freezing cold?

Mr. Henderson

I have said that further inquiries are being made.