§ 9. Mr. Ridsdaleasked the Secretary of State for Defence what action he is taking to bring the pay of British forces in the United Nations force in Cyprus more into line with that of other foreign contingents.
§ Mr. HattersleyI have nothing to add to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence to the hon. Member's supplementary question on 25th February.—[Vol. 796, c. 1206.]
§ Mr. RidsdaleHas not the hon. Gentleman read the article in the Daily Mirror headed,
The Scandal of Britain's poverty-stricken Tommies"?Will he stop being so backward-looking, as the Secretary of State was in the reply to me to which the hon. Gentleman referred, and will he do something about it?
§ Mr. HattersleyI have read the article in the Daily Mirror, though I did not agree with all its conclusions. The basic conclusion to which my right hon. Friend and I come is that British soldiers serving in different sectors should receive pay calculated on the same basis, and I am sure that that is right.
§ Mr. RidsdaleIn view of the unsatisfactory nature of the reply, I beg to give notice that I shall continue to try to raise this subject on the Adjournment.