LONDON: John Amery, 33-year-old son of Leopold Amery, the former Secretary of State for India, was today [July 30] committed for trial at the Central Criminal Court on the charge of high treason.

According to a statement Mr. Amery is said to have made to British Intelligence officers, he regarded communism his greatest enemy. He worked for a united front against Russia and claimed that his position was widely different from that of William Joyce and the latter’s friends because they regarded themselves as Germans, and the British as “the enemy”, whereas he claimed that he had never spoken against the British people. A lengthy statement… was read in which the accused outlined his anti-Communist and anti-Semitic views.

Amery pleaded “not guilty” and reserved his defence until his appearance in the higher Court. … British prisoners of war [in France] told of John Amery’s visits to their camps and of his promises of food and freedom from the prison camps if they would only promise to fight the Russians. … French and Belgian witnesses described Amery’s speeches at Lyons and Antwerp in which he denounced Winston Churchill and praised Hitler, ending with “Heil Hitler”…

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2020