§ 7. Mr. Andrew Dismore (Hendon) (Lab)If he will make a statement on compensation for civilian prisoners of the Japanese in the second world war. [143774]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Ivor Caplin)In November 2000, the Government instituted a scheme to make ex gratia payments of £10,000 each to members of certain groups held captive by the Japanese during the second world war. Among those covered by the scheme are British civilian internees who had a close connection with the United Kingdom at the time of their captivity. So far, 1,876 payments have been made to former civilian internees, and a considerable number to the surviving spouses of those who died before 7 November 2000.
§ Mr. DismoreWhile I acknowledge the generous scheme that my hon. Friend outlined, a small number of people have been excluded because their grandparents or parents were not born in the UK. They were British enough to be interned by the Japanese, but it seems that they are not British enough to receive the compensation to which they are morally, if not legally, entitled. Two of my constituents, Mr. Abraham and Mrs. Sopher, are among the 324 such people resident in the UK. Will my hon. Friend meet Mr. Ron Bridge of ABCIFER—the Association of British Civilian Internees Far East Region—which lobbies on behalf of those people to discuss a way forward and see if anything can be done to help those who have been left out of that generous scheme?
§ Mr. CaplinMay I congratulate my hon. Friend on his campaigning on this issue? He, like me, knows that the legal process undertaken by ABCIFER has come to an end. I have seen his letter to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State of 3 December, and I can assure him that a detailed reply will be on its way very shortly.
§ Mr. Roger Gale (North Thanet) (Con)Sadly, Members on both sides of the House have to write to the widows of that dwindling number of the old and bold or attend their funerals. Those widows feel after many years that they have been let down, in all honesty by Governments of all political persuasions. Would the Minister consider at the very least meeting his hon. Friend the Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore), me and 1309 others who are seeking to represent the interests of that small band of people so that we can discuss a proper way forward?
§ Mr. CaplinI have told my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) that I would be happy to meet him if there are outstanding issues or new matters that he or other Members want to discuss. That offer still stands.