Churchill was ass for sending them,specially after the Imperial Japanese Navy just displayed in aces 3 days earlier what sea launched airpower was capable of. He couldn't bring himself to admit that Britania didn't rule the waves anymore.Japan had not only the biggest but most advanced NAVY afloat at the dawn of WWII
Churchill certainly made mistakes in WWII and both before (Dardenelles campaign was his baby in WWI and an unmitigated disaster) and after (Suez although not technically his, had his handprints on it).
They said, this criticism is wrong on several counts and just generally misdirected and unfair.
First, while Churchill's government did order Repulse and POW to Singapore, they did that to show resolve in the hopes of deterring Japanese aggression. That obviously failed but I would argue that it was worth a try.
Second, the implication that Prime Minister Churchill exercised day-by-day tactical control over warships operating out of a base almost half-way around the world from Downing Street is absurd.
Third, Churchill's orders regarding the two ships were obviously issued LONG before Pearl Harbor. The ships left England weeks before Pearl Harbor and Churchill's control ended then.
Fourth, Repulse and POW were not sent without air cover. They were sent with a carrier but it suffered damage and had to stop for repairs.
Fifth, Churchill would reasonably have assumed that Repulse and POW could operate under air cover provided from Singapore and other British bases in the region. The local command decided to send them beyond the range of that cover.
Sixth, in hindsight it was obviously ludicrous to send Repulse and POW beyond their air cover but that wasn't realized until after they met their demise. At Pearl Harbor and at Taranto before that IJN and RN planes had sunk and damaged heavy ships but a lot of people still thought that was because the ships were caught by surprise and unable to maneuver. The first heavy ships ever sunk at sea by air power alone were . . .
Repulse and Prince of Wales.