§ 13. Sir John Mellorasked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will make a further statement with regard to the civilian bicycle which was damaged at Sutton Goldfield on 10th August, 1943, by an R.A.F. vehicle.
§ The Secretary of State for Air (Sir Archibald Sinclair)I am glad to have this opportunity of correcting the reply I gave to my hon. Friend's Question on 28th June. I then stated that the first intimation of a claim for compensation for the damaged bicycle was received some eight months after the accident. I now find that a claim was submitted within six days of the accident but that, owing to an oversight, the Claims Commission was not made aware of the claim until the receipt of the claimant's letter of 18th April, 1944. The matter has now been disposed of to the claimant's satisfaction. I should like to express regret for the failure to effect an earlier settlement and for the inaccurate information which I gave to my hon. Friend at the earlier stage.
§ Sir J. MellorWhile thanking my right hon. Friend for his handsome apology, may I ask whether his Department were not very casual about this matter seeing that a month before he answered my Question I informed him that a claim had been submitted last August and that repeated efforts had been made to obtain compensation?
§ Sir A. SinclairI can assure my hon. Friend that it was not a question of my Department being casual, but a question 1363 of mistaken information being received from the unit concerned. That is the subject of investigation by the air officer commanding the group.