§ Mr. RandallTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what Royal Navy personnel were present on the trawler, Gaul, during the six months before her disappearance off north cape; and if he will make a statement. [4364]
§ Mr. SoamesMy Department has no record of Royal Navy personnel ever having been aboard the trawler Gaul.
There has for some time been speculation about the loss of the Gaul in February 1974 and allegations that she was involved in intelligence-gathering activities. My Department has no record of the Gaul, under that name or her earlier name, Ranger Castor, ever having been engaged on any task for the Royal Navy, or any evidence to call into doubt the findings of the independent investigation which concluded that she foundered and sank with all hands in heavy seas.