§ Sir R. Glynasked the Prime Minister to which Minister has responsibility for the safety of vesels in harbours of the United Kingdom been assigned should a state of emergency arise; what light has been thrown by recent experiments with atomic bombs, on the risk that will be run by British tonnage in port and at sea, respectively; and to what extent the Home Office is responsibile for the Civil Defence concerned.
§ The Prime MinisterI assume that my hon. Friend is not referring to active defence which is of course a matter for the Service Departments. The general responsibility for other aspects of defence of ships in ports of the United Kingdom belongs to the Minister of Transport who receives technical advice from the Home Office. It would not be in the public interest to disclose the information obtained from the recent tests at Monte Bello regarding the effect of atomic explosions on the safety of ships at sea and in port.