HC Deb 13 December 1944 vol 406 cc1220-1
41. Sir Hugh O'Neill

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what are the present prospects of sending home to Gibraltar the evacuees who are now in camps in Northern Ireland.

43. Miss Ward

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been called to the position of Gibraltar evacuees at present in Ulster; and will he arrange for them either to be sent home or to be given proper conditions of life befitting citizens of the Empire.

Colonel Stanley

I have a great deal of sympathy with these evacuees from Gibraltar and am most anxious that they should be enabled to return home as soon as possible. About half of those who left the Colony in 1940, when the evacuation was originally ordered, have now gone back. The substantial difficulty, as regards the remainder, is the extremely heavy pressure on the available accommodation in the limited and congested area of this small Colony. I am considering how this situation can best be dealt with, but I regret that I am not at present in a position to make a definite statement.

As regards the accommodation occupied by the evacuees in Northern Ireland, I understand that my right hon. Friend the Minister of Health is answering a question to-morrow and as the responsible Department in this matter is his Ministry, my hon. Friend will perhaps be content to await his statement.

Sir H. O'Neill

As the conditions are not satisfactory in the camps, would it be possible to send these Gibraltar evacuees to North Africa, where there must be a lot of more suitable camps and where the climate is much better?

Colonel Stanley

I am considering these things, but North Africa is not under the control of His Majesty's Government.

Miss Ward

Could my right hon. and gallant Friend explain how these conditions could ever have been allowed to arise?

Colonel Stanley

I do not know what conditions my hon. Friend means. These people had to be evacuated because of war circumstances, and the difficulty is to get them back to this congested area. I think she will agree with me that putting a quart back into a pint pot is one of the most difficult things one can ever do.

Sir Douglas Thomson

Could my right hon. and gallant Friend say what numbers have returned to Gibraltar?