§ 16. Mr. Sydney Irvingasked the Secretary of State for War if he will state the number of letters of protest at the discharge of Terry Dene he has received from Members of Parliament and the general public.
§ Mr. SoamesSince this man was discharged, we have received six letters from hon. Members and fourteen from the general public.
§ Mr. IrvingIs the Minister aware that almost everybody in the country is completely incensed about the treatment of this case? Can he explain why this man was not kept in long enough to see whether he would recover his standard of fitness, which he has quite remarkably recovered immediately on his discharge? Will the Minister examine the whole Service to see whether any other serving soldier has had any less favourable treatment than this man?
§ Mr. SoamesI think the hon. Gentleman has certainly misapprehended my reply. This man was examined by doctors and psychiatrists, both military and civil, and the report they made to me was quite unanimous. In their opinion, he was unfit for service. In these circumstances, as I am not a doctor myself, I had no alternative whatever but to accept the medical advice, in which have the fullest confidence.