§ 15. Lieut. - Commander FLETCHERasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether his attention has been called to several cases of sabotage which have occurred in His Majesty's ships; and whether, in view of the general uneasiness caused by this new and disturbing state of affairs, he will make a statement on the subject, and especially as to the steps taken to detect the malefactors and to guard against such incidents in the future?
Lord STANLEYThe Admiralty is, of course, aware of the cases of damage or suspected sabotage which have recently occurred in His Majesty's ships when in hand in the dockyards. Beyond saying that suitable preventive measures are being employed, it is not desirable to discuss them, as publicity would obviously tend to defeat the objects in view.
§ Lieut.-Commander FLETCHERHave any of these cases of sabotage occurred in other than cases when the ship was in dockyard hands?
Lord STANLEYAs I have informed the House, there was one suspected case of sabotage in a private dockyard.