HMS Scylla Class Dido second group somewhere near Malta
Her sistership HMS Charybdis at Gibraltar
Okay, where is Charybdis anyway?
HMS Cairo at La Valetta
Again, where is Cairo?
Aha! No we know why the RN would paint their ships id 'defensive' Malta camo. It could help as long as your enemy short of radars. That was exactly the case with Regia Marina.