asked the Undersecretary of State for War what steps are being taken by His Majesty's Government for the appointment of the Court of Inquiry, promised by the Prime Minister, into the circumstances attending the withdrawal of the Fifth Army under the command of General Gough during the recent fighting on the Somme; and when the body which it is proposed to set up will begin its proceedings?

As my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer intimated to the hon. and gallant Member for Dulwich on the 23rd April, the Army Council have called upon the Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chief in France to make a report on the circumstances of the withdrawal of the Fifth Army after full investigation, which is doubtless now proceeding. The authorities are not prepared, in the midst of the heavy fighting now in progress, to put pressure upon Sir Douglas Haig to hasten his inquiries, nor will they prescribe to him the form in which he shall conduct them. The Prime Minister made no promise that this should be done.