§ 119. Mr. Dribergasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air if the case of Aircraftman Cymbalist has now been considered by the Air Council; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Strachey:Yes, Sir. The Air Council has now considered the case of Aircraftman Cymbalist. In doing so, the Air Council had to take into consideration not only the exceedingly grave crime of incitement to mutiny of which Aircraft-man Cymbalist was convicted by court martial, but also this airman's Service record, which must be a factor relevant to his sentence. I must inform the House that Aircraftman Cymbalist was in 245W January, 1943, convicted by district court martial on a charge of stealing £24 from a fellow airman and was sentenced to six months' detention. He was again tried in May, 1944, on a charge of using insubordinate language to a superior officer and received 28 days' detention.
On the other hand, the term of his sentence—ten years—was undoubtedly long and the Air Council has decided to reduce it to five years.
In this connection I should inform the House that instructions were sent out to all commands in the Royal Air Force on 10th May to the effect that all sentences imposed by courts martial for purely Service offences and at present in execution are to be specially reviewed when one third of the length of the sentence has been served, with a view to the remission of part or all of the remainder of the sentence, if recommended by the prison governors and approved by the Air Council.