It appeared from the debate-as well as from Sir Samuel's
refusal to answer questions put to him by Sir Stafford Cripps and Captain Ernest Evans that the Committee of Civil Servants to whom the cases of the dismissed men were referred had sat rather in the manner of justice herself, blindfolded, to review their ease. They appear to have had no opportunity to examine the witnesses and secret service agents who could have given them the necessary information, but to have been confined to the task of looking at written documents and asking no questions. Everyone can appreciate the dilemMa which must arise in extreme cases where swift and arbitrary action ;may save human lives and also ensure national safety, but the treatment of these men, dismissed unheard, certainly seems hard to reconcile with the canons of natural justice., It is a pity that the Government could not see its way to accepting Sir Francis Acland'S Suggestion that the case might be reviewed by some independent person.
Previous page
