HC Deb 29 June 1938 vol 337 c1892
36. Mr. Noel-Baker

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what is the estimated cost to the British Treasury of the entertainment of units of the Italian fleet at Malta and Gibraltar?

Mr. Cooper

Apart from any expenses met by officers and men of the Mediterranean Fleet, the cost of the naval entertainment of the Italian ships at Malta was borne by the Navy Vote, in which provision is made for the entertainment of foreign guests of His Majesty's Navy, and for which money has been taken in the current Navy Estimates. No special charge, therefore, will fall upon the Treasury on this account. There has been no official entertainment of Italian ships at Gibraltar recently.

Mr. Cocks

Is the First Lord aware that this entertainment included a performance of Shakespeare's "As you like it," and was this a reference to the bombing of British merchant ships?

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