§ Mr. J. Morganasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the damage sus- 1358W tained by His Majesty's Ship "Liverpool" arose from an aerial attack which developed following the radio instructions indicating fleet action positions to the Italian authorities that certain of their naval ratings were in need of assistance; and why were such Italian naval ratings not taken as prisoners of war?
Mr. AlexanderNo, Sir. The attack on His Majesty's Ship "Liverpool" was made two days after the broadcast of survivors' positions. After the bombing of His Majesty's Ships whilst rescuing survivors from the Italian Cruiser "Bartolomeo Colleoni," sunk in action by His Majesty's Australian Ship "Sydney," the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, did not feel disposed to subject his ships again to such a risk. He chose the alternative of disclosing the whereabouts of survivors.