HC Deb 11 March 1954 vol 524 cc187-8W
Mr. Shinwell

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he now has any further information about British seamen detained in Japan; and what approaches have been made to him by the National Union of Seamen on the subject.

Mr. Dodds-Parker

No further report has been received about this matter but, as already stated, the British Consul at Yokohama continues to do his utmost to find employment for, or repatriate, the British seamen concerned. As regards the second part of the Question, on the morning of the 3rd March the general secretary of the National Union of Seamen drew the attention of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation to a letter in the "Nippon Times" on the subject, and asked that the matter should be looked into. This was subsequently confirmed in writing. I regret that I misinformed the right hon. Member for Easington when I replied to his supplementary question on 8th March.