DEPORTED ALIENS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 68, 31 December 1940, Page 6

DEPORTED ALIENS.

REPLY TO CRITICISM SEQUEL TO SEA TRAGEDY LONDON, December 20. Criticism of the methods used in, selecting aliens for deportation is answered by Baron Snell, the Government spokesman in the House of Lords, in a report on the inquiry into the sinking of the Arandora Star on July 2. This vessel was torpedoed while taking Austrians, Germans 'and Italians to Canada, and there was heavy loss of life.

Lord Snell pointed out that the security authorities were responsible for deciding who were dangerous Italians. All Austrians and Germans on board, he said, wei\e in the category of aliens —namely, person's whom tribunals, after inquiry, had ordered to be interned. Therefore there was no reason to question why they should be ■deported 1 . But there had been no classification of Italians by tribunals, and as time had not permitted of further scrutiny the Government accepted the security officers’ lists, which were based on membership of the Fascist Party, this being the only evdenee against many of the deportees. Apparently, said Lord Snell, the view was taken that those who had .been only nominal members of the Fascist Party and those who were ardently Fascist were equally dangerous.

Lord Snell said the result was that the deportees included a number of men whose sympathies wholly we|re with Britain. One deported Italian had lived in England for 15 years, and was not a member of the Fascist Party, and was erroneously included in the list. Errors which occurred in about a dozen cases were due largely to the fact that the work was carried! out under great pressure. “Taking the broad view of the programme of deportation and the conditions under which the selection had to be done,” said Lord Snell, “I do not consider that this number of errors provides cause for serious criticism.”