Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Faulkner of Worcester (Labour). It was answered on Wednesday, 6 December 2006.

Shipping: Naval Wrecks

Question: My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that reply. These two ships were sunk 65 years ago this week and the wrecks are the final resting place of 840 officers and men. Is my noble friend aware of the activities of foreign-owned diving companies, such as Rec ‘N’ Tec and White Manta, which have promoted themselves by placing pictures of human remains on their websites and, in one case, producing for sale a DVD of a full penetration dive on HMS ““Repulse”” carried out by a US citizen? Does my noble friend agree that the survivors and the relatives of the deceased deserve rather better than that?

Answer: Yes, my Lords, I agree absolutely. I have seen stills from the DVD and they are extremely distressing and must be extremely painful for the families and the survivors. The British Government, via the British High Commission in Malaysia, have asked the company to remove the video from its website. It has done so and apologised for the distress caused. The Ministry has also madeits concerns known to a number of Malaysian government agencies and to the navies of the region, and of course the Royal Navy itself makes several trips to the site.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 687 c1151
Session: 2006-07
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Protection Wrecks Warships War graves HMS Prince of Wales HMS Repulse HMS Prince of Wales (wreck)
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk