§ Mr. ROWNTREEasked the Home Secretary whether he has made further inquiries into the case of Walter Robin son, of Middlesbrough, who was convicted and fined on 18th June for failing to report himself under the Military Service Act, although he had been given exemption conditionally upon finding work of national importance under the Pelham Committee; whether Walter Robinson has now been 350W liberated from military custody and referred to the Pelham Committee; and whether the fine has been remitted?
Mr. SAMUELI have ascertained that this man obtained a certificate of exemption from combatant service only. He disregarded the notices calling on him to report himself, and when charged as an absentee at the Middlesbrough Police Court on 19th June he had not, and he did not claim to have, such a certificate of conditional exemption as the hon. Member suggests. He was therefore rightly convicted and fined, and I see no reason for action on my part. What has happened since the conviction is a matter for the military authorities, to whom I would refer the hon. Member for any further information.