§ 38. Sir H. Williamsasked the Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been drawn to the anxiety created in the Sussex resorts by the statement issued to 738 the Press by the South-East Area Command, to the effect that the risk to life from mines on the South Coast might continue for years; and if he will institute an inquiry as to the responsibility for placing mines in unrecorded places.
§ Sir J. GriggMany minefields were laid in a great hurry after the evacuation from Dunkirk, but I know of no case where a record of such fields was not kept. All these areas are now being searched and it is not until the authorities are entirely satisfied that every reasonable precaution has been taken to make the beaches safe that a clearance certificate is issued and the barriers removed. Even then, there may still be danger from mines which have been shifted from their original positions by the action of the sea and which have not been detected. The statement to which my hon. Friend refers merely acknowledged this regrettable but, I hope, remote possibility.
§ Sir H. WilliamsWill my right hon. Friend answer the Question why mines were placed in unrecorded places, as distinct from unrecorded areas? Have any records been kept of the numbers that have been put in?
§ Sir J. GriggThey have not been put in unrecorded places.
§ Sir H. WilliamsMay I put the specific question with regard, not to unrecorded areas, but to unrecorded places?
§ Sir J. GriggI do not suppose that the position of every one of the hundreds of thousands of mines was marked by a stake, but the general areas of the minefields were marked.
§ Mr. Quintin HoggIs my right hon. Friend aware that it is impossible to lay extensive minefields and to know the exact spot at which every mine has been placed?