§ 17. Sir Geoffrey Manderasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will consider the advisability of making arrangements by which people in this country could send letters and parcels to relatives in the Channel Islands in the same way as they can send to prisoners of war and interned civilians in Germany.
§ Major-General Sir Alfred Knoxasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make a statement on the present conditions in the Channel Islands; and whether it is possible for relatives to send next-of-kin parcels and letters to British subjects in the Islands.
§ The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Herbert Morrison)His Majesty's Government would have been glad if provision could have been made for the sending of private parcels, but owing to the limited shipping space available, they considered that the population could best be served by the dispatch of standard food parcels for general distribution. With regard to present conditions in the Islands, and the sending of mail, I regret that I am not yet in a position to add to the information which I gave in my reply to the hon. Member for South Dorset (Viscount Hinchingbrooke) on 18th January.
§ Sir G. ManderWhen the shipping position becomes easier, will the right hon. Gentleman then consider attempting to carry out the suggestion I have made?
§ Mr. MorrisonIf that should happen, certainly we would take any opportunity of considering the point, but there are other considerations to take into account.
§ Mr. ThorneWill my right hon. Friend say how long it will be before the Germans clear out of the Channel Islands; and will he make an effort to knock them out?