Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that human remains found among the scrap of the battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS Repulse are given a fitting burial by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Investigations into the illegal salvage are still ongoing. The Ministry of Defence is unable to provide a response regarding the presence of human remains until these investigations have concluded.
If the remains of British Service personnel are identified, the Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) will ensure that they are afforded a dignified military funeral and final resting place.
In unfortunate cases where there may be insufficient evidence, resource or capacity to name the deceased they will remain 'unknown', but be afforded the appropriate dignity and respect. Similarly, in cases where the evidence set may be too broad, remains are afforded a shared, final resting place.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to using the ongoing Operation Highmast deployment to repatriate one of the anchors of the battleship HMS Prince of Wales that were illegally salvaged in Malaysia.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Malaysian authorities have primacy over the investigation into the illegal salvage of HMS Prince of Wales and it would be inappropriate to comment at this stage. Decisions on the preservation of any artefacts will be made once investigations have concluded.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether construction of the first Fleet Solid Support ship has begun.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Successful delivery of the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ship programme, which is currently in the design phase, remains a priority. The recent acquisition of Harland & Wolff (H&W) by Navantia UK, following the administration of H&W, has provided greater certainty to the delivery of the FSS programme and protects UK’s shipbuilding capability.
Construction has not yet begun, the design work is progressing well and production of the first FSS ship is expected to begin later in 2025, with all three vessels bolstering the Royal Fleet Auxiliary over the coming decade.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether cadets in the three cadet forces are allowed to attend any function where alcohol is served for adults.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Cadets may be allowed to attend functions where alcohol is served for adults. Alcohol should not be served at events where cadets are present ‘at the table’, for example at a formal dinner. However, if cadets attend in another capacity, such as stair lining, serving of alcohol would be permitted to adults. There is a strict no-drinking policy for cadets or Cadet Force Adult Volunteers on duty.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government why Sea Cadets are not allowed to be issued with drill firearms for parade training.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Marine Society and Sea Cadets (MSSC) is an independent charity responsible for the Sea Cadets and therefore operates in a different but albeit collaborative manner from the other Royal Navy Cadet Forces. The MSSC is formally sponsored by the Ministry of Defence via a Grant in Aid from the Royal Navy. Therefore, the equipment provided for Sea Cadets is a matter for MSSC to best determine within extant resources.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of the presence of two anchors from the former HMS Prince of Wales among the metal looted from the wreck and currently held in Malaysia.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Malaysian authorities have primacy over the investigation into the illegal salvage of HMS Prince of Wales. As these investigations are ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment on the alleged perpetrators at this stage, or speculate on the future preservation of the artefacts, including any metal recovered, until they have concluded.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are aware of any plans for the disposal of metal illegally looted from the wreck of the former HMS Prince of Wales currently held in Malaysia.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Malaysian authorities have primacy over the investigation into the illegal salvage of HMS Prince of Wales. As these investigations are ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment on the alleged perpetrators at this stage, or speculate on the future preservation of the artefacts, including any metal recovered, until they have concluded.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the men responsible for looting the wreck of the former HMS Prince of Wales have been released from Malaysian custody.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Malaysian authorities have primacy over the investigation into the illegal salvage of HMS Prince of Wales. As these investigations are ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment on the alleged perpetrators at this stage, or speculate on the future preservation of the artefacts, including any metal recovered, until they have concluded.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they have taken to recover metal illegally looted from the wreck of the former HMS Prince of Wales.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Malaysian authorities have primacy over the investigation into the illegal salvage of HMS Prince of Wales. As these investigations are ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment on the alleged perpetrators at this stage, or speculate on the future preservation of the artefacts, including any metal recovered, until they have concluded.
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any ships of the HMS Prince of Wales task group currently en route to the Far East will visit Malaysia or Singapore.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
While the exact details of Operation Highmast cannot be released to preserve operational security, I can confirm that port visits to Malaysia and Singapore are part of the deployment.