§ Mr. HACKINGasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that Mr. George Oddie, late private No. 3,848,938, Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire), who was discharged from the Army on 7th November, 1928, as medically unfit for further service, is not in receipt of a pension; whether he is aware that Mr. Oddie, as a result of the complaint for which he was discharged, is now con fined in a mental hospital; whether he is aware that Mr. Oddie on discharge was, in the opinion of his own doctor and of a noted nerve specialist, suffering from Chinese neurotic leprosy, which could only have ben contracted during his Army service in China; whether he will see that a pension is forthwith granted to Mr. Oddie with arrears, or an independent medical board appointed to review the case; if not, will he state whether the Army medical officers are of opinion that Mr. Oddie's complaint was neither Chinese neurotic leprosy nor due to his military service; if so, will he inform Mr. Oddie's relatives the special qualifications of the medical officers who examined Mr. Oddie and formed that opinion; and will he state the complaint from which each individual medical officer considered Mr. Oddie to be suffering?
§ Mr. SHAWI have had correspondence with the right hon. Gentleman regarding this case and I regret that I am unable to add to the information I have already given him. I am advised that the disability from which Mr. Oddie was invalided from the Army was not attributable to his military service and, while I am precluded from making disclosures from Army medical documents, I may say that Mr. Oddie's case has been most care fully considered and that the Army medical authorities were not of opinion that he was suffering from Chinese neurotic leprosy nor have I seen any medical opinion to the contrary. I am unable to agree that a further medical board should be appointed and I regret that in the circumstances a pension from Army funds is not admissible under the regulations.