HC Deb 25 June 1958 vol 590 cc393-4
2. Mr. Allaun

asked the Minister of Defence if, in view of the worsened situation in Cyprus, he will immediately stop sending National Service men there.

The Minister of Defence (Mr. Duncan Sandys)

I do not see why.

Mr. Allaun

Is it fair to send young conscripts to Cyprus and to use them not in defence of our own country but to clear up the dirty mess which the Government have created? If it is intended to use the thousands of National Service men in Cyprus for the purpose of intervening in the Lebanon, is that not even more shameful and also more worrying to their parents?

Mr. Sandys

First of all, I should like to say that National Service men are, of course, an integral part of the British Army. Secondly, having seen something myself of the spirit of these men as they went off to Cyprus the other day, I am quite sure that if they had been left out they would have been not only disappointed but many of them would have felt positively insulted.

3. Mr. Allaun

asked the Minister of Defence what is the minimum period of training before sending National Service men to Cyprus.

Mr. Sandys

From nine to eighteen weeks, according to the Service involved.

Mr. Allaun

Since the number of volunteers has risen, why cannot those men who can have a longer training be sent there instead?

Mr. Sandys

I do not know what the hon. Gentleman is pursuing. He seems to suggest that there is a new policy. There is no change of policy. This has been the practice for a very long time. It was the practice under the Labour Government when they regularly sent National Service men overseas for all kinds of operations, including the war in Korea.

Mr. C. R. Hobson

Will the Minister see that these National Service men are equipped with automatic weapons so that they can defend themselves?

Mr. Sandys

Of course, they will be properly equipped like the Regulars.