§ Mr. Lewisasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Defence if his attention has been drawn to the recent disclosures of homosexuality in the Royal Air Force; to what extent this is prevalent in the three Services; and what 20W action is taken by his Department and those concerned to stamp out homosexuality when this is discovered in Her Majesty's forces.
§ Mr. BirchIf the hon. Member is referring in the first part of his Question to evidence given by two airmen in a criminal case which has recently been committed for trial at the assizes, he will not expect me to comment while the matter issub judice. There is no reason to suppose that homosexuality is prevalent in the Services.
As regards the remainder of his Question, he will find a statement of the attitude of the Service Departments towards offences of this kind in Annex 36 on pages 388–390 of the Report of the Select Committee of this House on the Army Act and the Air Force Act. The Select Committee accepted these views.