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Army Absentee (Employment)

Volume 380: debated on Wednesday 3 June 1942

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36.

asked the Minister of Information whether he is aware that a certain man, aged 24, whose full name has been communicated privately by the hon. Member for Hendon, was found to be an absentee from the Army by the Wealdstone bench of justices; that this man has been recently employed by the Ministry on film propaganda work and also by the British Broadcasting Corporation as a broadcaster; whether he is still employed; and if such employment began before or after his name had been removed from the register of conscientious objectors by the tribunal?

This gentleman has never been employed by the Ministry of Information. I understand that more than a year ago he worked as an actor for a company engaged in the production of one of the many films in which the Ministry was interested. I am told that the B.B.C. has used him in a number of dramatic feature programmes.

I have already told the hon. Member that he has worked as an actor in some of these dramatic programmes. I would point out that the B.B.C. employs something like 3,000 people per week who go to the radio.