§ Mr. Duncan SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those charged with theft of items from war graves in United Kingdom waters; and of these how many have been successfully prosecuted. [127669]
415W
§ Dr. MoonieMinistry of Defence Police investigations have resulted in one individual being charged with theft from a sunken military vessel. The individual accepted an official "Police Caution".
There have been other prosecutions under the Protection of Military Remains Act for offences relating to aircraft.
§ Mr. Duncan SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to increase the level of protection of United Kingdom war graves; and if he will make a statement. [127670]
§ Dr. MoonieThe Ministry of Defence, together with other Government Departments has been assisting with Diving Associations' plans for self regulation through the development of a Code of Practice for diving on wrecks.
The aim of the Code is to re-educate divers to adopt best practices when diving on all wrecks. Current training and other publications, issued by the diving organisations, will be reviewed to take account of the legal and moral responsibilities of those who dive on wrecks. In addition a new "Wreck Diving Law Course" is being piloted by the British SubAqua Club (BSAC). Information and guidance on "Respecting Our Wrecks" already appears on the Diving Associations' websites.
Mechanisms for enforcement of the Code of Practice and other initiatives, which could result in expulsion from the organisation, are already in place in the Associations' constitution. Any member behaving in a way calculated to be prejudicial to the interests of the club could be expelled. The diving organisations are fully committed to change the way a small minority abuse the wrecks they dive on.
It is expected that this Code will be introduced by the Diving Associations shortly. The Government will assess compliance with the Code and review policy accordingly in the light of subsequent developments.
In addition, my Department has given full support to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency proposed Wreck Amnesty. The aim of the Amnesty is to encourage finders of wreck material raised in the past, but not reported under (s)236 of the 1995 Merchant Shipping Act, to come forward and report past finds. These finds could include light munitions or other potentially dangerous materials; items of historical importance as well as items capable of being returned to the rightful owner. This along with other initiatives supported by the Ministry of Defence is aimed at heightening divers' and other sea users' awareness of their legal and moral responsibilities.
My Department has produced guidance notes for sport divers when diving in the vicinity of wrecked military vessels, these are publicly available.
Along with other Government Departments we continue to encourage safe, responsible and legal diving practices.
§ Mr. Duncan SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what protection, other than protection under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986, there is for United Kingdom war graves in(a) United Kingdom and (b) other waters; and what methods of enforcing this protection there are. [127668]
416W
§ Dr. MoonieLegally a "war grave" is a burial maintained by the Commonwealth War Grave Commission. Since a sunken vessel is not a "burial" a sunken warship is simply a derelict in Admiralty law and has no greater or special legal status.
I am unaware of any other legislation specially drafted for the protection of underwater human remains. The fact that a vessel has not been designated does not mean that a person can remove items from a vessel with impunity. Other laws may apply.
The Protection of Wrecks Act 1973, provides protection of wreck sites that are of archaeological or historical significance or are dangerous. The Merchant Shipping Act 1995, which incorporates the International Salvage Convention 1989, provides for the rights of both owners and finders of wreck.
If there is a breach of the law then the appropriate enforcement authorities will enforce the law.
My Department is unaware of any international legislation for the protection of underwater military human remains. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea does, however, cover archaeological and historical objects found at sea which could include human remains.
§ Mr. Duncan SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many(a) vessels and (b) controlled sites have been designated under section 2 of the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. [127666]
§ Dr. MoonieNo vessels or controlled sites have been designated under section 2 of the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.
§ Mr. Duncan SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the United Kingdom war graves in(a) United Kingdom waters, (b) international waters, and (c) waters belonging to other countries. [127667]
§ Dr. MoonieThere is no centrally held list of wrecked military vessels that lie in UK territorial water, international waters or the territorial waters of other countries and no one single source of reference which identifies all vessels lost in the service of the Admiralty or on Government Service since 1914.
The returns to Parliament following the end of both world wars, Navy Losses and Merchant Shipping Losses, list some 12,000 vessels. They list for WWI: the total number of warship losses 254; Auxiliary vessels 815, Merchant 2,479, Fishing vessels 675. WWII: Warships and Auxiliary vessels 1,503, Landing craft 1,308 and Merchant vessels 4,786. No distinction is made between those vessels in Government Service or Mercantile vessels. Only one List identifies vessels where lives were lost. These records have not been updated in the intervening years.