§ Sir A. Wilsonasked the Home Secretary (1) whether it is possible to provide other accommodation than the cells of His Majesty's prisons for suspected enemy aliens who are awaiting examination by the tribunals;
(2) how many suspected enemy aliens are held in custody in His Majesty's prisons; how many of them are women, and how many were formerly domestic servants who voluntarily remained in Great Britain; and by what date at the present rate of progress will their cases be decided by the tribunals?
§ Sir J. AndersonThe men who have been interned as enemy aliens are detained in internment camps and not in prisons, except that some of them are lodged in a prison for a few days after their arrest when arrangements cannot be made to take them direct to an internment camp. For the women who have been interned as enemy aliens no special establishment has been provided, and they are being detained in Holloway Prison. The women at present so detained number 96, of whom 44 were domestic servants who did not return to Germany before the outbreak of war. The local tribunals are reviewing the cases of Germans and Austrians who are at large, not the cases of those who have already been interned. Among those who have been interned there are a number of cases which I have referred to the Advisory Committee, and I understand that the Advisory Committee expect to complete their examination of the cases which have already been referred to them by the end of November; but no doubt there will be other cases referred to the committee. The committee is a standing committee for examining such cases as may be referred to it from time to time.
§ Mr. Holmesasked the Home Secretary whether, in view of the assurance given in the announcement of the constitution of the aliens tribunals that special consideration should be given by these tribunals to the cases of British women who, by marriage to men of enemy countries, have acquired the nationality of their husbands, he will consider that in the public 1211W interest there should be added to the existing appointments some experienced practising women barristers?
§ Sir J. AndersonI called the special attention of the tribunals to the position of British born women who have acquired German nationality by marriage, and I have no doubt that in reviewing the cases of Germans and Austrians the tribunals will take due account of the special position of these women. It is not proposed to set up separate tribunals to consider such cases.