§ Mr. A. Edwardsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can make a statement on the Partisan Movement in Northern Italy.
§ Mr. George HallAccording to the information in the possession of His Majesty's Government, resistance to the Germans in Northern Italy is on a considerable scale. It is containing appreciable forces of German troops and Italian Fascist militia. The various groups which go to make up the resistance movement consist in the main of disbanded military units, workers who have left factories and civilians who have refused to answer the call of the so-called neo-Fascist authorities to military service or the German demand for Italian labour. Its leaders have acknowledged the authority of the Italian Government. Help in the form of arms, sabotage material, food, clothing and money is being sent to the more active groups by the Allies, together with the necessary directions for use. Communication with the Allied Command in Italy is maintained. A special programme known as "Italia Combatte" is broadcast daily from Bari and Naples and relayed by the British Broadcasting Corporation supplying information about the resistance activities in other parts of occupied Europe and giving instructions to the Italians as to the action required of them.