HC Deb 22 July 1925 vol 186 cc2185-6
27. Mr. CONNOLLY

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he is aware that the roller bearers for gun rammers of His Majesty's Ships "Rodney" and "Lord Nelson," which were manufactured in Sweden, have been condemned by His Majesty's inspector, and will he state whether the new roller bearers are to be manufactured abroad or in this country?

Mr. DAVIDSON

Yes, Sir The roller bearings referred to were manufactured in Sweden. This fact led to their rejection by the Admiralty, as the contract stipulated that they were to be of British manufacture.

Sir W. SUGDEN

Is it not a fact that I received a reply from the Government Bench that these two vessels, which were being built in certain yards, were being built entirely of British material; and is it not a fact that we have steel engineers and shipwright engineers on the east coast, particularly The Hartle-pools, who were prepared to give guarantees that the ships should be built entirely of British material if the Admiralty gave them the orders?

Mr. DAVIDSON

The hon. Member must have misunderstood my answer. These roller bearings were condemned because they were not of British manufacture.

Sir W. SUGDEN

Is it not a fact that the Admiralty stated that there were no foreign materials being used in these battleships, and that, as a fact, these foreign bearings were put into the ship?

Mr. CONNOLLY

The last part of my question has not been answered. Are all roller bearings to be manufactured in this country? Is the hon. Member aware of the great amount of work that is involved in this matter, seeing that there are 950 roller bearings for each ship? Are these bearings in future to be manufactured in this country, or not?

Mr. DAVIDSON

The hon. Member must understand that the firm to whom the order was given sent the order for these bearings to Sweden. Because they were made abroad, the Admiralty officer, whose duty it is to inspect these bearings, condemned them. No material used on a British warship is manufactured abroad.

Sir W. SUGDEN

These foreign bearings were actually put into the ships.

Mr. SPENCER

Was the contractor of the ship responsible for bringing these bearings over?

Mr. DAVIDSON

Yes. The firm that had received the contract. We had nothing to do with it, except that, being of foreign manufacture, they were condemned by our inspector.

Colonel DAY

Were they condemned before they were put into the ship?

Mr. DAVIDSON

Not to the best of my knowledge.