§ Mr. E. Smithasked the Home Secretary whether he has considered the case of Albert Theobald, a London Passenger Transport Board driver who, having served seven years in the Army, wished to rejoin but could not obtain his release from the London Passenger Transport Board because he would not enrol in the Home Guard; was sent to prison for one month at Watford Police Court; did the man have legal advice; and whether, in view of the evidence of the trade union, he will remit this sentence?
§ Mr. H. MorrisonMy inquiries indicate that the information on which my hon. Friend's Question is based is mistaken. According to my information, Mr. Theobald if he had wished to join the Army could have done so at any time before the 8th April, 1942, when the Essential Work Order was applied to the undertaking of the London Passenger Transport Board. He took service with the Board in January, 1940, and on the 14th April, 1942, applied for release to take up employment as an electric crane driver. In August, 1942, he again applied for release in order that he and his wife, might live at Hayes with a relative. In November he was prosecuted for failing to enrol in the Home Guard, and when before the court alleged that he had been prevented from joining the Army because the London Passenger Transport Board would not release him. I am told that he was not legally represented at the hearing, but the case appears to have been fully investigated by the court, and I have been unable to find grounds for advising any interference with the sentence, which expires to-morrow.