HC Deb 23 March 1955 vol 538 cc187-8W
64. Mr. Hamilton

asked the Minister of Defence what legal actions against his Department are now pending consequent on the publication of the pamphlet on the treatment of British prisoners of war in Korea.

Mr. H. Macmillan

None.

65. Mr. Hamilton

asked the Minister of Defence howmany of his staff were engaged on the questioning of prisoners of war returned from Korea; and whether such questioning was on a voluntary basis.

Mr. H. Macmillan

Four Service officers were sent out to Korea for this purpose before the British prisoners of war were released. This team was supplemented by a number of officers in Korea to assist them in the task of preliminary questioning, because of the rapid rate of release of the prisoners and the short time available between their release and their return to the United Kingdom.

Of course, one of the main purposes was to find out what had happened to a number of men who had been posted as missing, since we had no adequate casualty returns from the Communist authorities. The men were encouraged to telltheir stories in their own way and the whole procedure was informal. When the reports of what our men had to say became fully available it was thought that they revealed a situation about which the British public was entitled to be informed. The booklet was, therefore, prepared and published.

66. Mr. Hamilton

asked the Minister of Defence to what extent he relied on written evidence in the compilation of the pamphlet on the treatment of prisoners of war in Korea.

Mr. H. Macmillan

The main source of the information in this booklet was the record of the interviews of the repatriated British prisoners about which I gave the hon. Member details in my reply to his Question on 16th March. Information was also obtained from captured enemy documents, enemy publications, photo-reconnaissance and similar sources.