121. Mr. J. P. L. Thomasasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he has any information to account for the delay in the return of the battleship "Royal Sovereign" to Rosyth.
§ Mr. W. EdwardsBy an agreement of June, 1948, between United States, United Kingdom and Soviet representatives on the Four Power Naval Commission in Rome, the arrival of the "Royal Sovereign" in the United Kingdom and the arrival of the "Giulio Cesare" at her port of destination are to be simultaneous. Arrangements were made for the "Royal Sovereign" to sail from Murmansk on 15th January, but I understand that these were not put into effect because the sailing of the "Giulio Cesare" was delayed. I hope that new dates of departure to achieve simultaneous arrival will shortly be agreed.