HC Deb 25 July 1988 vol 138 cc29-30W
Mr. Onslow

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what steps he now intends to take to ensure that antiquities recovered from the site of the warship Invincible, sunk in the Solent in 1758, will be preserved in museums in accordance with the policy of Her Majesty's Government as outlined in the answer of the Secretary of State for Transport on 8 March,Official Report, column 155, instead of being offered for public sale; and if he will make a statement;

(2) what action he intends to take to provide for the proper management of the sites of historic warship wrecks in British waters; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Freeman

The interest of the Ministry of Defence in the excavation of shipwrecks is limited to wrecks of warships of which the Ministry of Defence is the legal owner.

The Department of Transport gives licences under the 1973 Act to excavate all controlled sites such as Invincible and other warship wrecks in this category. The Department of Transport oversees the conduct of the salvors. The Ministry of Defence has a right to reclaim all salvaged property from such controlled sites at a price agreed with the licensed salvors in the form of a salvage award.

As a matter of current policy the Ministry of Defence does not pay such salvage awards as they are not an appropriate charge to Defence votes. The items salvaged are therefore the property of the licensed salvors to dispose of. I understand that the salvors of Invincible offered the items recovered to Chatham historical dockyard trust, which purchased a representative sample. The balance was sold by the salvors at auction.

The law governing recovery of antiquities from wrecks is a matter for the Secretary of State for Transport and I will draw my right hon. Friend's attention to the concern of the right hon. Member over this matter.