§ 12. Mr. Kendallasked the Secretary of State for War whether having regard to the general working conditions which Italian collaborators are now enjoying in this country and the advantages they are deriving from English living conditions and security, he is now prepared to arrange for married men of our own forces who have been abroad three years or more and are now serving in Italy, to be returned to carry out the occupations now being performed by these Italians and give the latter the opportunity of helping to free their own country.
§ Sir J. GriggI have nothing to add to the reply I gave the hon. Member on 26th September.
§ Mr. KendallIs it the policy of the Government that the work done by these Italians is always to be done in places of safety; and is it not about time that these collaborators were given a chance of fighting in this testing time, in their own land?
§ Sir J. GriggThe question is, What is the best way of bringing the maximum impact to bear on the enemy, which is the German Army, in various parts of Europe, and I would say that what is being done is being done in accordance with that maximum.
§ Captain Cunningham-ReidIs not the suggestion of my hon. Friend the Member for Grantham (Mr. Kendall) an excellent one, and if eventually it is adopted for security reasons, should not the ratio be one British fighting man to three "wops"?
§ Mr. G. StraussIs it not a fact that General Alexander is constantly paying tribute to the heroic work done by Italian collaborators in this theatre?
§ Sir J. GriggThese people who are collaborating with us behind the lines in Northern Italy are not the same people who got themselves captured in Libya.