§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support Her Majesty's Government plan to provide to the action taken by the Association of British Civilian Internees against the Japanese Government; and what measures he has taken to ensure that the 1951 peace treaty does not obstruct the case. [14782]
§ Mr. HanleySuccessive British Governments have accepted that the question of compensation was settled legally by the 1951 San Francisco peace treaty. Although we cannot become involved in legal proceedings, our embassy has provided practical assistance to former prisoners of war and civilian internees when they visited Japan, and we have repeatedly drawn the attention of Japanese Ministers to the claims of the former prisoners.