§ Mr. RAPERasked the Secretary of State for Air on whose authority the 283W officer commanding at Ascot suggested deciding the order of discharge of ex-service men by drawing lots; what is the name of this officer; has he been reprimanded for his attempted evasion of the Lytton Report; whether he is aware that this procedure was only averted by strenuous protests from the Ex-service Men's Association; whether a Substitution Committee is in active operation at this station; what is its composition; and how was it appointed?
Captain GUESTA Substitution Committee was not appointed because the whole clerical staff was ex-service. As regards the determination of the order of discharge, the procedure laid down in the Lytton Report has been followed, as I stated in the reply I gave to the hon. and gallant Member for Central Hull on the 16th instant. The suggestion referred to was, as I said in the same reply, merely tentative, and I see no reason for taking any serious notice of it.