Crowds of people cheered the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier as it sailed out of Portsmouth harbour last week, on its way to join the cream of the Royal Navy for a round trip to Japan later this spring.
Only a few months ago rumours were swirling in Westminster that the carrier and its sister ship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, could be mothballed or scrapped as the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, tightened her grip on public spending before next month’s spring statement.
