§ 42. Mr. G. Wallaceasked the Secretary of State for War why Mr. W. S. Whyte, an ex-N.A.A.F.I. employee attached 1st Battalion East Lanes Regiment (R.P.), B.A.O.R., was kept waiting for 102 days following his arrest on 7th July, 1946, before being brought to trial; and what conclusions have been reached by his Department following the correspondence submitted by the hon. Member for Chislehurst.
§ Mr. BellengerThe initial delay in bringing Mr. Whyte to trial was due to the difficulty of assembling the necessary witnesses. There was a further delay between the date application was made for trial and the date the trial was actually held and I am awaiting a further report on this point. Mr. Whyte was tried by court martial on 16th October, 1946, and was found guilty on two charges. The 319W finding on the first charge has been quashed and the sentence of six months' imprisonment with hard labour was commuted to one of 100 days' detention. Mr. Whyte has now been released from detention. The proceedings of trial have been called for and will be reviewed on arrival. I will inform my hon. Friend of the result of this review.
§ 98. Mr. Turtonasked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that Colonel C. H. Hart, of Haxby, has not yet received any pay for the period from 1st October, 1944, to 14th April, 1945, when he was on sick leave suffering from eczema, the result of prolonged overstrain whilst serving with No. 3 Training Brigade, R.A.S.C., and that the findings of the medical board in June 1944, and the certificate of the command specialist in dermatology in February, 1945 confirm this diagnosis; and whether he will take the necessary steps to secure that the pay is duly issued.
§ Mr. BellengerColonel Hart was not paid during the period in question because he had already exhausted the period of two months' paid sick leave to which he was entitled. The medical boards which examined him decided that his disability was not attributable to military service. He is not, therefore, entitled to further payment.