Jeremy Hunt and the HMS Victory Scandal

June 6, 2012 - PRLog -- Tonight the potentially toxic smell of dodgy dealing and incompetence hangs over the decision by Jeremy Hunt’s Department of Culture Media and Sport and Phillip Hammond’s Ministry of Defence to “gift” one of Britain’s most historic shipwrecks to the amateur “Maritime Heritage Foundation”, headed by the senior Conservative Peer Lord Lingfield; a man who is so closely associated with the commercial salvage company Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc, based in Tampa Florida, that it can be legitimately asked if the MHF is in some way operated as an arm of Odyssey?

Namely that, just as he apparently offered privileged access to Fred Michel and News International over the abortive B-Sky-B deal; hapless Culture Minister Jeremy Hunt also offered privileged access to Lord Lingfield through an off the record meeting in the Summer of 2010.

The meeting took place during the supposedly impartial public consultation Hunt’s department was running over the future of the wreck of HMS Victory sunk in a storm with the loss of 1150 Royal Navy sailors in 1744.

   The meeting clearly had the desired effect because, in an e-mail released under the Freedom of Information Act, Lord Lingfield states explicitly that his offer to set up a charitable foundation had been accepted by the Secretary of State, Jeremy Hunt [2].Having set up the backstairs deal to offload responsibility for the Victory and her lost crew, Hunt’s department, the supposed guardians of our national heritage, then washed their hands of the subject, handing negotiations over to officials at the Ministry of Defence. The MOD asked for no advice from the DCMS, the Government’s statutory advisor on maritime archaeology English Heritage, or any other independent experts [3].

The Victory and her crew were lost in a ferocious storm on the night of 4/5 October 1744. Now it is the plan to let the Maritime Heritage Foundation and Odyssey exploit the Victory and her dead crew which is in danger of sinking…

               In February this year the MOD’s own HMS Victory 1744 Archaeological Group, set up to advise Lord Lingfield’s charity, offered a devastating view of the competence and capability of the Maritime Heritage Foundation, suggesting it was ignorant of even the most basic knowledge of best practice and legislation in heritage management and worse, that it was not competent to enter into contracts with service providers such as Odyssey [4]. In spite of this the MHF did indeed enter into a commercial salvage contract with Odyssey which assured Odyssey it would be paid for its work in cash, or through the sale of objects and it did so without taking any independent expert advice or offering the work to tender.

               As a consequence questions are also being asked about the independence of this charity and whether it complied with Charity Law in its procurement process by directly commissioning work from Odyssey and not putting the work out to tender to avoid conflicts of interest.

               The Ministry of Defence had so little confidence in the capability of the Maritime Heritage Foundation that, in spite of written plans to do so, they have delayed “gifting” another historic shipwreck- HMS Gloucester lost off East Anglia in 1682 for at least a year [5] yet saw fit to leave HMS Victory 1744 in the MHF’s charge.

               It is also being asked how the Maritime Heritage Foundation, which has no visible financial resources, is able to retain the services as its Press Officer of Rebecca Blackwood of the high end PR Firm the Brunswick Group.

NB: Ms Blackwood just happens to also be the UK Press Officer of Odyssey Marine Exploration.THIS LOOKS LIKE JEREMY HUNT’S B-SKY-B ON SEA…

IN THE LIGHT OF THESE REVELATIONS MORTIMER HAS THIS SIMPLE MESSAGE FOR PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON…

   MR CAMERONYOUR MINISTERS HAVE GIVEN AWAY THE MEMORIAL TO 1150 ROYAL NAVY SAILORS TO AN AMATEUR CHARITY AND ITS PUPPETEERS- A COMMERCIAL SALVAGE COMPANY DESPERATE TO SELL OUR HERITAGE TO PRIVATE COLLECTORS.BEFORE THE REPUTATION OF YOUR GOVERNMENT AND OUR COUNTRY SUFFERS FURTHER DAMAGE YOU HAVE NO OPTION BUT TO…

Suspend the gift of HMS Victory 1744 to the Maritime Heritage Foundation.

               Put the future of HMS Victory in the hands of an independent panel of experts, chaired by your statutory advisor English Heritage who will ensure full compliance with the Annex to the UNESCO convention and that all work is archaeologically led and put out to open tender.

               To ensure this shipwreck of an omnishambles does not happen again, the Government must then conduct a proper, open, public consultation regarding the future of management of historic wrecks which are the legal responsibility of the Government.

The stakes are high…

   IF YOU DO NOT ACT THE WORLD WILL KNOW OUR PAST IS FOR SALE TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER AND THE SHIPS WHICH ARE THE GRAVES AND MONUMENTS TO ROYAL NAVY SAILORS ALL OVER THE WORLD WILL BE UNDER THREAT FROM UNSCRUPULUS SALVAGE FIRMS, KEEN TO MAKE MONEY FOR THEIR SHAREHOLDERS FROM OUR PAST.






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NOTICE TO EDITORS

[1] Private Eye Issue No: 1315, 29th May 2012.

[2] E-mail from Lord Lingfield dated 4 February 2012

   “However, of course, my submission to the Consultation, accepted by the Secretary of State as the preferred way forward, outlined my plans for the proper archaeological excavation of the site and, of course, this is what, step by step in consultation with the Group, the Foundation hopes to do. It would hope, in the fullness of time, to do the same for HMS Gloucester.”

[3] E-Mail from Fleet DCS dated 2 August 2011

   “I explained that it had been agreed with DCMS that I should act/negotiate on behalf of both departments taking forward this action.”

[4] E-mail from English Heritage dated 2 February 2012

   “It is surprising that we have to explain (and more so debate) very basic principles of heritage management, and the implementation and management experience/practice of established legislation (PoW, nearly 40 years, PMRA, 26yrs, and MCA 2009). All of which is, and has been, freely available. Guidance on concepts of principle (Conservation and Management Plans for historic wrecks, Conservation Principles, Heritage at Risk (including historic wrecks), management of projects (MoRPHE)) is also widely available.This calls into question the transparency and nature of access to advice. It might be suggested that the Foundation acquires such advice in relation to the historic environment, at trustee level, before they enter into commercial contracts with servicecompanies? There are many people who could provide that input. It is disappointing that this brings back memories of the Sussex case where, after considerable time and debate, the contractor eventually had a panel of external advisors, as did the HMG with the Archaeology Review Group. All to demonstrate transparency and quality of advice/experience.”

[5] E-mail from the Advisory Group to the MOD dated 16 February 2012

   “HMS GloucesterThe AG is minded to recommend that this wreck is not gifted to the MHF now given the concerns about that organisation’s capacity. This may be reviewed later, perhaps not for at least a year.”


Please contact Mortimer for further information, contacts and quotes regarding the HMS Victory story.


Original e-mails released under FOI are available on request.
The Mortimer Team
30 May 2012

Header Image : ictory (1737), model in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich : Wiki Commons


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