§ Mr. MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Hull, West and Hessle (Mr. Johnson) of 17 December 1997,Official Report, column 214, on intelligence gathered by trawlers, if he will name the trawlers; if he will indicate whether the Gaul was used for intelligence purposes and whether it was being so used at the time of its sinking; and if arrangements for using trawlers for intelligence work and collecting intelligence from crews of other trawlers operated at Grimsby. [22637]
§ Dr. ReidThe three trawlers used for specific intelligence gathering operations in the mid-60s and early 1970s were MV Arctic Galliard, MV Lord Nelson and MV Invincible. All were owned by Hull-based companies, and almost certainly operated from that port. The MV Gaul was not involved in any such activity either before or at the time of her loss in 1974.
More generally, personnel did occasionally embark on trawlers, during which time they were encouraged to report back any opportunity sightings of interest, as indeed were the trawlermen themselves. While we can assume that this did not necessarily centre on Hull-based vessels, there are no records to indicate whether trawlers or trawlermen from other ports were involved.