THE MARQUESS OF CREWEMy Lords, may I ask His Majesty's Government whether they are in a position to make any statement either about the condition of affairs in India or with regard to the recent naval losses which have taken place?
§ LORD SNELLMy Lords, I am not in a position to make a general statement this afternoon, but there are two subjects of particular interest which the Prime Minister touched upon in the course of his remarks to-day in another place which may be of interest to your Lordships. On India the Prime Minister advised the House that it would be better to await the return of the Lord Privy Seal, who may be in a position to make a personal report 532 to Parliament upon the important Mission with which he was charged. The issue of a White Paper would be considered, although a great deal of information has already been made public by both Parties to the discussions.
The House may also be interested to hear what my right honourable friend had to say regarding the naval losses which we have recently suffered in Indian waters. With your Lordships' leave I will read his statement on this matter:
On the 4th of April superior Japanese naval forces which had entered the Indian Ocean were observed steering towards Ceylon. These forces comprised at least three battleships, including one of the modernized sixteen-inch "Nagato" type and five aircraft carriers, together with a number of light cruisers and destroyer flotillas. Severe air attacks were delivered on the harbours of Colombo and Trincomalee. As has been announced, the attacking aircraft suffered heavy losses at both places from the British fighter protection and from the anti-aircraft batteries. We also suffered to a lesser extent but seriously in our aircraft, and damage was done to shore establishments and to the few ships which remained in the harbours. Besides these losses the two eight-inch-gun cruisers 'Dorsetshire' and 'Cornwall' and the aircraft carrier 'Hermes,' which had left the harbours before the attack, were sunk at sea by enemy aircraft.The naval operations were under the command of Admiral Sir James Somerville, an officer who for the last two years has been commanding in the Western Mediterranean and has almost unrivalled experience of the conditions of modern naval war. Without giving the enemy useful information I cannot make any statement about the strength of the forces at Admiral Somerville's disposal or the reasons which led him to make the dispositions of his Fleet for which he was responsible. Nothing in these dispositions or the consequences which followed from them have in any way weakened the confidence of the Admiralty in his judgment. I may perhaps add that it is quite impossible to afford continuous air protection by shore-based or carrier-borne aircraft to all His Majesty's ships at sea. Many scores are at sea every day without such protection and unless these risks are taken there is no means of carrying on the immense business of convoy and sea war which fall upon the Royal Navy.
LORD STRABOLGIMy Lords, the statement made by the noble Lord is quite new to me and I venture to ask a question about it. Before doing so, may I say that I am quite sure all your Lordships accept the statement made with regard to the great experience of Admiral Somerville? He has had an unbroken series of successes in this war and the question I am going to put to my 533 noble friend is asked with that understood. How is it that these ships, which apparently were lost near Ceylon, were not given air protection? The statement we have just heard, I suggest, glozes over that question. There was obviously danger of air attack and it seems to ordinary persons possessed of ordinary information that this is a repetition of what happened to the "Prince of Wales" and the "Repulse." If it is true that one of the ships, H.M.S. "Hermes," was only ten miles off the coast of Ceylon, surely she could have had fighter protection from the aerodromes there. I do not expect the noble Lord to deal with technical questions now, but I would like to ask whether we can have a further report when fuller information is available.
§ LORD SNELLMy Lords, as you are aware, I have merely repeated what the Prime Minister said in another place earlier to-day, and I am not in a position to deal in any way with the supplementary question put to me by the noble Lord. I imagine, however, that opportunity will be afforded, if it is desired, for a future debate on the matter.