Reservists

HC Deb 27 November 1956 vol 561 cc200-6

4. Mr. Brockway

asked the Secretary of State for War how many reservists recalled for service in the Middle East failed to report for duty when required on the termination of their leaves; how many men were involved in protests against their retention in Cyprus or conditions there; how many in each category have been charged; of these, how many were acquitted; and what punishments were awarded to those found guilty.

Mr. Hare

I assume that the hon. Member refers to the 638 reservists who failed to embark on the "Asturias" to return to Germany at the end of their leave. Many of these had been granted extended leave; 32 were apprehended as absentees, and the remainder rejoined their units after only a short absence. I know of 116 cases in which disciplinary action has been taken. Seventy-one of the men concerned were admonished and the remainder received punishments ranging from three days' confinement to barracks to 28 days' detention. This information may not be complete as some of the units concerned are now in transit.

I assume that the second half of the hon. Member's Question refers to a demonstration which occurred at Headquarters Field Records Cyprus. Disciplinary action was taken against 23 noncommissioned officers and men; 16 of these were dealt with summarily by their commanding officer, 12 being acquitted and the remainder receiving minor punishments. Seven men were tried by general court-martial on 12th November. Six of them were found guilty of joining in the mutiny and one of disobeying a lawful command. Sentences range from reduction to the ranks and 12 months' detention to 14 days' detention.

Mr. Brockway

While thanking the right hon. Gentleman for that very full reply, may I ask him, in view of the sense of frustration from which these men suffer—often kicking their heels and being in idleness for weeks—and the ultimate repudiation of military action by the United Nations, whether he will not reprieve these punishments altogether?

Mr. Hare

I do not think that is a helpful supplementary question. We really must not exaggerate these things. I admit that a number of these men were standing by with all their transport and with their equipment packed up and that they were not as fully employed as we should have liked them to have been, but as soon as news of the worsening international situation broke they hurried to their units. That is a fact which, I think, demonstrates that, basically, there was nothing wrong with their morale.

Mr. Strachey

While it is quite impossible to condone the action of those men, would the right hon. Gentleman not agree that the numerous character of these incidents, almost unparalleled in Army history, shows the very repugnant nature of the military tasks the Government were asking these men to perform?

Mr. Hare

The right hon. Gentleman has got hold of the wrong end of the stick. I have pointed out that, as soon as news of the worsening international situation broke, these men hurried back to their units.

Mr. Dudley Williams

Would not my right hon. Friend agree that most of this conduct has been caused by the encouragement given to such individuals by Left-wing opinion in this country?

Mr. Hare

No, I think the House really should keep this in proportion. I think my answer is a fair one, and I believe it to be the truth.

Mr. Stokes

Does not the right hon. Gentleman's previous answer prove conclusively what I suggested to him last week, namely, that if he were to allow all the reservists to go, they would come back on call, whether by wireless or by telegram and that, therefore, there is no reason why he should retain any more of the reservists in this country at the present time?

Mr. Hare

I am answering later a number of Questions on the Paper about the reservists.

Mr. Stokes

Will they be the right answers?

10. Mr. Wigg

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will state the terminal gratuities and periods of leave which will be granted to Army reservists on release from the Colours; whether they will be related to the differing condition of service and reserve pay and gratuities of Class A and reservists designated for service in Class A, Class B, Army Reserve, Category I A, I B, II B, and II A of the Army Emergency Reserve, respectively; whether, as the timing of release is related to the exigencies of the service, he will consider special cases of personal and business hardship; and whether he will introduce legislation to remove the anomalies revealed in the workings of the Army Reserve Act, 1950, and the Auxiliary and Reserve Forces Act, 1949.

Mr. Hare

The scales of leave to be granted were given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Defence in a Written Answer to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Nottingham, Central (Lieut.-Colonel Cordeaux) on 20th November. No arrangements have been made to pay terminal gratuities. We are releasing all reservists who are no longer required as quickly as possible and regardless of their occupation. Applications by others for release on compassionate grounds or because of exceptional business hardship will be considered in the normal way. The composition of the Army Reserve will be reviewed in the light of experience in the present emergency.

Mr. Wigg

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that it has always been the practice when the Reserve has been mobilised to pay gratuities of some kind, and that in this case the Government were caught up in an imperfect mobilisation scheme, so that there was bound to be hardship? Ought not gratuities, therefore, to be paid which would take into account the fact that men were called up who received no Reserve pay, a fact which is bound to cause a great deal of heart-burning? Surely, the right hon. Gentleman must now admit that the unrest which has existed amongst reservists springs fundamentally from the fact that the mobilisation scheme of the Government just did not work, and that they called up far too many men.

Mr. Hare

I cannot accept the latter part of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary. I think the leave and pay arrangements which we are making are generous, and I think there is not a case for the gratuity for which the hon. Gentleman asks. I can assure him that we are getting on with the job of releasing reservists as quickly as we can.

14. Mr. Allaun

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will pay former National Service men recalled for the Suez war, who had not volunteered for the Reserve, the sum they would have been entitled to had they been on the Reserve since completing their National Service.

Mr. Hare

I am not sure what the hon. Member means, as all the men recalled were on the Army Reserve. It is a fact that some reservists receive more than others during their Reserve service, but these amounts are related to their greater liability for training and to recall.

Mr. Allaun

Is it not utterly unfair that thousands of former National Service men who did not volunteer for the Reserve, many of them now with young families, should have suffered the same liability to recall as men who did volunteer? Will the Minister consider paying these men, as very partial compensation, the £27 a year minimum which they would have received as members of the Regular Reserve?

Mr. Hare

As the House knows, these bounties are related to the reservist's training liability and his liability to recall in an emergency without a proclamation. The National Service reservists in category II of the Army Emergency Reserve have a lesser liability, and the fact that it was necessary to recall some of them for the present emergency does not alter that. As to the other part of the hon. Member's supplementary question, I am prepared to consider whether any change in the future is desirable.

Mr. Strachey

Do not these anomalies, which are undoubted in the scheme which the War Office has instituted in this recall, not call for a review of the arrangements for recall to service, of which the right hon. Gentleman spoke just now?

Mr. Hare

I have just said that I am prepared to look at this matter. The reason is obvious. Some men are more liable to recall than others and, because of that, they are paid a higher bounty.

Mr. Wigg

Will not the right hon. Gentleman be good enough to look with care at the different categories recalled? Will he not realise that a man in category IIa of the Army Emergency Reserve has a tremendous grievance against the Government for not giving him some compensation for calling him without notice?

Mr. Hare

I am prepared to look at this matter, but for the future and not for the past.

15. Mr. Allaun

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is now in a position to give further details about the demobilisation of reservists recalled for the Suez war and of other men retained beyond their normal period of service.

17. Lieut.-Colonel Lipton

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will make a further statement on the release of reservists.

Mr. Hare

I have nothing to add to my statement of last Tuesday, except to confirm that the process of release has already started.

Mr. Allaun

Is the Minister aware of the widespread discontent among these men, particularly National Service men, who have now been away from their homes and their jobs for four months? What is to prevent the right hon. Gentleman from getting all these men, whether they are in Britain, Germany, Cyprus or Suez, home and demobilised in time for Christmas?

Mr. Hare

I have already explained the position of the Government on this matter. I did so to the House last week. I have nothing very much to add, except that I re-emphasise that we must have sufficient reservists and retained Regulars to enable us to meet our military commitments. Our policy is to release those no longer necessary because of the way this emergency has developed. I assure the hon. Member that we made a punctual start on Thursday and that the process is going well.

Lieut.-Colonel Lipton

Have the Government any planned system of priorities for release, apart from individual application on compassionate grounds? Have they any regard to age, length of service, medical category and that sort of thing, or is it a pure fluke whether a man gets released now or next year?

Mr. Hare

The hon. and gallant Gentleman must realise that I had a choice of waiting and working out a complicated list of priorities or getting on with the job of releasing them. I took the latter view, and we are releasing men who are not needed. I assure the House that the estimate of 6,000 men released within six weeks will be honoured. In fact, I pitched my estimate low, but at this stage, because I do not want to create disappointment, I am not prepared to go further.

Viscount Hinchingbrooke

Will my right hon. Friend have full regard to the psychological effect of giving details about releasing men at a time when the main issue is still hanging in the balance?

Mr. Hare

I hope my noble Friend will agree that I have been careful to say that I do not wish to create disappointment.

Mr. Stokes

Will the right hon. Gentleman answer my question which he would not answer earlier? He said in reply to another Question that people who had failed to return from leave returned immediately they realised how serious was the situation. Would the right hon. Gentleman, therefore, not agree that he can quite easily release people—and there are 14,000 of them at present serving in this country—on the understanding, which they have already recognised, that they must come cack speedily if wanted?

Mr. Hare

The right hon. Gentleman may be assured that I shall not keep them in unnecessarily, and I am getting on with what I call a fair and rapid scheme of demobilisation. I am not prepared to go any further at the moment

Mr. J. Griffiths

Does the right hon. Gentleman's reply to the noble Lord the Member for Dorset, South (Viscount Hinchingbrooke) mean that the Government are still prepared to go on defying the United Nations?

Mr. Speaker

Order.