§ Mr. Russellasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the letters which he has received from the doctors in Wormwood Scrubs Prison relative to the treatment of Cypriot prisoners.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThe communications were addressed to the Governor.
The following are the texts which I give with the agreement of my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary.
Wormwood Scrubs Prison.
8th June, 1957.
Cypriot Prisoners
Cypriot prisoners admitted on 28th August, 1956, in H.M. Prison, Wormwood Scrubs, were questioned and medically examined by me on arrival.
(1) No account of ill-treatment was given to me by these prisoners.
(2) I found no marks, bruises or other abnormalities to suggest injury or ill-treatment.
(Sgd.) R. Aspinwall,
Medical Officer.
Prospect House,
Cheltenham Road,
Painswick, Gloucester.
10th June, 1957.
Sir,
My recollection of the reception of nine Cypriots into H.M. Prison, Wormwood Scrubs, on 7th February, 1957, is as follows:
100WI was informed that they had flown in one party from Cyprus, and they arrived early in the afternoon.
I had the whole party brought to the Hospital, where I examined each man separately in my office, a Hospital Officer being present throughout.
I enquired about the past and present health of each man, one question always being: "have you had any recent illness or injury?"
The answers tended to be brief and uninformative but nobody complained of any recent disability. One man mentioned a dislocation of a shoulder years ago, with full recovery, and another an old wound of the right leg, said to be sustained in the last Great War.
As these men had just arrived by air from abroad, I was particularly careful in physical examination, but I found no evidence of recent injury. The leg wound was healed and old enough to have been a war injury.
Nobody made any complaint about ill-treatment, anywhere, and I found no evidence of any.
In addition, I asked the one man who seemed prepared for normal conversation—he had mentioned tobacco and food—" Is there anything else you would care to tell me?" Without success, so I feel sure these men did not at that time wish to complain to me.
After examination, they left the Hospital for the main Prison, and I am certain that no prisoner ever complained to me of ill-treatment in Cyprus.
(Sgd.) James L. Brown, M.D.
Medical Officer.