Mr. SWANNasked the Secretary of State for War if he is now prepared to make any statement regarding the demobilisation of men in the 30th and 31st Battalions of the Middlesex Regiment; and if he is aware of the fact that men of these battalions consider they are being victimised, as many very hard cases for release on extreme compassionate grounds have been refused?
§ Mr. CHURCHILLInstructions were issued in June that no aliens (with the exception of enemy aliens) will be retained for service with the Army of Occupation, but will be discharged as soon as practicable after the Ratification of Peace. They will receive the usual demobilization628W benefits. With regard to the last part of the question, the men of the battalions mentioned by the hon. Member have been treated in exactly the same way as other men in the Army in demobilisation matters. The cases to which the hon. Member refers of men having been refused release on compassionate grounds were no doubt refused on account of their not falling within any of the categories prescribed in the instructions governing releases on such grounds.