§ Mr. Selleyasked the First Lord of the Admiralty what reports have been received to show whether there is an increasing accumulation of loose drifting mines in the Western Mediterranean as well as along the route outside the Balearic Islands between Gibraltar and Marseilles; and whether action will be taken by the authorities to destroy the mines and to have a route patrolled so that shipowners can have some guarantee of safety for their vessels navigating in these waters?
§ Mr. ShakespeareThere have been no reports of an accumulation of drifting mines but it is not improbable that there has been some increase in the number which have broken adrift. Any drifting mines which may be sighted by His Majesty's ships would be destroyed but it would be impossible for any system of patrol to guarantee safety routes in the large area concerned.