Sunak sinks new royal yacht plan in favour of ocean surveillance ship

The previous royal yacht, HMY Britannia (pictured here in 1997), was in service from 1954-1997 but has had no successor vessel. Photograph: Tim Graham/Getty Images

Rishi Sunak has sunk plans by Boris Johnson’s administration to build a new royal yacht, sparking criticism about the £2.5m of taxpayers’ money already spent on the “vanity project”.

As Whitehall braced for cuts expected in Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement next week, the project – intended to promote post-Brexit trade – was abandoned in favour of defence capabilities.