§ MR. HARMSWORTHTo ask the Secretary to the Admiralty if he can state whether it was by order of the Lords of the Admiralty that a notice was recently put up in Chatham Dockyard to the effect that the footpaths in the yard were reserved for the use of officers only; whether any, and if so how many, men have been punished for breaches of this order; and will he explain why this notice was removed just previous to a recent visit to the yard by the First Lord of the Admiralty, and was replaced immediately after the visit.
(Answered by Mr. Arnold Forder.) No notice to this effect has recently been issued in Chatham Dockyard, nor have there been any recent instances of men 1444 being punished as suggested by the hon. Member. There is a footpath opposite the official residences in the yard which has been reserved for many years past for the use of officers, but I am not aware that the notice was taken down and replaced as suggested in the Question