§ Sir W. Smithersasked the First Lord of the Admiralty what reply he gave to a letter sent to him by Mr. Constantinesco since the outbreak of this war?
Mr. AlexanderI assume that my hon. Friend refers to a letter dated 18th September, 1941. Mr. Constantinesco was informed in reply that it was not desired that he should undertake work for the Admiralty beyond that which he had already accepted, and that the Admiralty was unable to recommend the assignment to him of additional personnel. Many requests similar to that made by Mr. Constantinesco have been received, but in view of the urgent need of the Services for skilled personnel, it is only in exceptional cases that it has been possible to provide the staff and facilities requested. No reason was seen for making an exception in this case.