§ 44. Sir H. Morris-Jonesasked the Secretary of State for War whether it has now been decided to curtail the period of service of British troops abroad; and whether he will define the various theatres of war to which this applies.
§ Sir J. GriggThe figures I gave my hon. Friend the Member for South-East Essex (Mr Raikes) on 19th December will show my hon. Friend why it is unfortunately impossible at this stage of the war to reduce appreciably the periods of overseas service quoted in the reply I gave to a number of hon. Members on 26th September.
§ Sir H. Morris-JonesIs it not the fact that recent statements in a section of the Press that the period of service for leave was going to be curtailed have given false hopes to many of our men abroad, and is it not now possible to reduce the period of service?
§ Sir J. GriggYes, Sir. I do not think there is a single fact or factor in this problem of which I am not aware. As regards the first supplementary, it is quite true that there was in one newspaper a very misleading statement, which I am afraid was attributable to a very 636 silly answer given by a member of my staff. I hope that the present reply will remove any misapprehension there may be.