§ 19. Lieut.-Colonel Liptonasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether he has now received the report of the court of inquiry into the administration of the field punishment and detention unit at Wahnerheide, Germany; and what action he has taken.
Mr. WardI am expecting the report of the court of inquiry soon. As I told the hon. Member for Stockton-on-Tees (Mr. Chetwynd) in reply to his Question on 28th April, I shall make a statement on this whole matter as soon as I can.
§ Lieut.-Colonel LiptonIs the Minister aware that recent revelations by prisoners came as a very great shock to public 1214 opinion, and will he give an assurance that he will take every possible step open to him to make the officers responsible for the supervision of these places realise their duties, as well as the non-commissioned officers who have already been punished?
Mr. WardI understand that the Command Headquarters expect to be able to send the result of the court of inquiry to the Air Ministry by the end of this week, and then we shall study it very carefully. I have no doubt that we shall find that the points raised by the hon. and gallant Gentleman have been fully covered by the inquiry.