§ 45. Sir T. Mooreasked the Prime Minister whether he will recommend a general amnesty to war-time deserters in connection with the Coronation celebrations.
§ 46. Lieut.-Colonel Liptonasked the Prime Minister whether he will now reconsider the question of an amnesty for deserters.
§ The Prime Minister (Mr. Winston Churchill)Her Majesty's Government have decided that, in the circumstances referred to by the hon. and gallant Member for Ayr and as a special measure which will not be regarded as a precedent for the future, there will be no further 1725 prosecutions of members of the Armed Forces who deserted from the Services between 3rd September, 1939, and 15th August, 1945. Men who wish to take advantage of the amnesty will be required to report themselves in writing to a Service authority. They will then receive a protection certificate and will be transferred to the appropriate Reserve to which men were transferred on demobilisation. Men who claim the benefit of the amnesty will not be prosecuted for certain offences consequential upon desertion, such as subsequent fraudulent enlistment, or the possession of identity documents in a false name, but the amnesty will not cover other offences against the criminal law.
Full details will be announced in due course of the steps which men will be required to take and of the consequential measures which will be applied to men who have been convicted of desertion and are still serving, but any men who are awaiting trial or serving sentences for desertion during the 1939–45 war will be released from custody.
§ Sir T. MooreDoes my right hon. Friend appreciate that though this generous decision will, I suppose, be welcomed with mixed feelings throughout the country, it will, at the same time, restore thousands of men once again to family and community life and thereby, perhaps, give them an opportunity to justify this clemency?
§ Lieut.-Colonel LiptonIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that while his statement today—which is much more satisfactory than the answer he gave me on 29th January, 1952—will require a little study, it will be appreciated by all those who have long felt that this eight-year old man hunt should have come to an end long since?
§ Mr. Langford-HoltCan my right hon. Friend say to how many men it is estimated that this amnesty will apply? His hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for War stated the other day that there were 10,000 deserters. Is it a fact that the numbers involved under this proposed act of clemency will be in the neighbourhood of only 2,000 to 3,000?
§ The Prime MinisterI should like notice of questions of detail.