Backlash is growing against the Labour government’s announcement that Royal Navy flagships, tankers and helicopters will be decommissioned in cost-saving measures announced by defence secretary John Healey.
Two former Royal Navy flagships, 14 Chinook helicopters, 17 Puma helicopters and two wave-class tankers are among the equipment that will be decommissioned.
Lord Alan West, a former First Sea Lord, has criticised the move, saying the Navy has been “squeezed more and more”, adding: “I feel it is a sad day, yet again showing that over the last 14 years people have forgotten how important the sea and maritime is to the Navy. I understand if there is no money and people are broke, but it means there is less resilience.”
The savings, which Mr Healey blamed on the “dire inheritance” left by the Tories, will see assault ships HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, which have both been flagships, decommissioned.
Helicopters will also be affected by the cuts, with the 14 oldest Chinook transport aircraft removed early from service and Puma’s lifespan not being extended beyond March 2025.
The move has been met with backlash from opposition parties, with former intelligence and security committee chairman Sir Julian Lewis describing the scrapping of amphibious ships as “a black day for the Royal Marines”.
Key Points
- Healey announces former Royal Navy flagships will be decommissioned
- Tories say Labour will have to ‘own the consequences’ of cuts to Royal Navy
Armed Forces watchdog will be ‘powerful independent voice’ for troops – Healey
16:45 , Holly EvansA new Armed Forces watchdog will be a “powerful independent voice” for service men and women, Defence Secretary John Healey has said.
The Armed Forces Commissioner Bill will establish the Armed Forces Commissioner role and their office, replacing the Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces.
The Commissioner will have the power to hear directly from service personnel and family members on the concerns connected with their service, and to investigate personal concerns as well as launch wide ranging investigations.
Read the full article here:
Armed Forces watchdog will be ‘powerful independent voice’ for troops – Healey
Former British Navy chief warns Putin will be watching British military
16:28 , Holly EvansThe former head of the British Navy has described the state of its fleet as a national disgrace and called for the government to pour savings into urgently rebuilding maritime power and weapons stocks after Labour announced the retirement of two assault ships.
Admiral Lord Alan West - First Sea Lord from 2002 to 2006, and a Labour peer - said Russian president Vladimir Putin was watching British military capability closely and must think “they’re not very serious”.
“If we start getting bigger and more ferocious, then he’ll take notice. These people are bullies, they need to be confronted,” Lord West told the Independent following Defence Secretary John Healey’s announcement on Tuesday that HMS Bulwark and Albion, as well as 31 helicopters and two tankers, would be decommissioned.
Defence secretary should not pretend he is ‘clearing out an old cupboard’
16:18 , Holly EvansJohn Healey should not pretend he is “just clearing out an old cupboard” in his commissioning decisions, a Conservative MP has warned.
Sir Bernard Jenkin (Harwich and North Essex) asked the Defence Secretary: “So what does this announcement tell us about how the strategic defence review is really going?”
“One of the lessons of the Ukraine war is that old kit can be very useful (and) America’s airfields and dockyards are stacked full of old kit for future contingencies. We are throwing away capabilities which are only out of commission because there wasn’t enough money and now he’s telling us there’s probably even less money.
“So please will he not come to this House and pretend he’s just clearing out an old cupboard of rubbish that everybody had forgotten about and that the defence chiefs are hopping up and down with delight at his clearing out?”
Mr Healey responded that the decommissioning decisions have been made but it is yet to be decided what to do with the kit.
He added: “What my decisions in the announcements today can tell the House and (Sir Bernard), first of all that people will be at the heart of the plans for the future. Secondly, that the recognition that technology is rapidly changing and at an accelerating pace, and so that and that imperative will be part of the strategic defence review.
“And finally, the lesson of Ukraine that he talks about also tells us is that you have to have an increasingly integrated force. That’s reflected in the decisions I’ve taken today. He should expect that to be reflected also in the confirmation recommendations of the strategic defence review.”
Full report: Ministers scrap warships, helicopters, and drones in £500m defence cuts
16:12 , Jabed AhmedRead the full report from our political editor David Maddox below:
Amphibious assault ships and 31 helicopters to be scrapped in major defence cuts
Shadow defence secretary asks if Ukraine will receive decommissioned helicopters or drones
15:54 , Jabed AhmedShadow defence secretary James Cartlidge asked whether Ukraine would be given the UK’s decommissioned helicopters or drones as he pressed John Healey to say why he had made the announcement before the strategic defence review was complete.
Mr Cartlidge said: “To be clear, on Watchkeeper, as the minister who launched the MoD’s first ever drones strategy, I very much appreciate this is an area where we need to ensure we move fast and add capabilities able to deliver in the modern battle space.
“On Ukraine, will he be gifting any of these capabilities to Ukraine, such as the older Chinooks or Pumas, especially given what happened yesterday?
“Finally, and most importantly, what on earth does this all mean for the strategic defence review?
“From MRSS to future drones for the British armed forces, he will no doubt say ‘wait on the SDR’ – so why didn’t he wait on the SDR before making today’s decisions?”
Army would be ‘rapidly replacing’ equipment and can ‘do better’ than using old drones
15:53 , Holly EvansThe Army “knows what it can do better” than using 14-year-old Watchkeeper Mk I drones in an era when “drone technology has a life cycle of two to three months”, the Defence Secretary has said.
John Healey told the Commons the Army would be “rapidly replacing” equipment “in an era now as Ukraine tells us where drone technology has a life cycle of two to three months”.
He added: “The Army know what they can do better, they know they can do it more quickly, they know how they want to be able to focus their efforts for the future and decommissioning the Watchkeeper Mk Is will allow them better to do that.”
Johanna Baxter, the Labour MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, said: “Technology is changing the nature of the threats that we face.
“So can the Secretary of State confirm that this Government will work closely with the defence industry to harness new technologies to ensure that our forces have the kit that they need to respond effectively to increasing threats?”
Former First Sea Lord: 'The Navy has been squeezed more and more’
15:29 , Jabed AhmedLord Alan West, a former First Sea Lord, has criticised the move by the government to decommission Royal Navy flagships.
“The Navy has been squeezed more and more,” he told The Telegraph.
“I hope they say they will put in the order for the new amphibious ships now in order to replace these capabilities. If you don’t put the orders in, the ships won’t be built and available when you need ships to replace them when they are falling apart, which is what has routinely happened.
“I feel it is a sad day, yet again showing that over the last 14 years people have forgotten how important the sea and maritime is to the Navy. I understand if there is no money and people are broke, but it means there is less resilience.”
Royal Navy flagships have been ‘mothballed’, Healey says
15:14 , Jabed AhmedDefence secretary John Healey said he had consulted those involved in the Government’s strategic defence review before making the Royal Navy cuts.
He also told the Commons HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark had been “mothballed” with no likelihood of them ever returning to sea.
Mr Healey said: “I have made these decisions today in consultation with the reviewers to make sure these are aligned with their thinking, and we have done so in dialogue with Nato.”
He added: “He mentioned HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark. They were mothballed. There were no plans for either of these ships to go back to sea for nearly 10 years until they were due to be taken out of service.
“These were not ready to sail, these were not ready to fight, they were capabilities that can be covered elsewhere, and this will save us – every year – money that we can redeploy within defence to upgrade our forces and our technologies for the future.”
Mr Healey went on to accuse the Conservatives of not having proper plans to fulfil their pre-election pledge of spending 2.5% of GDP on defence.
He said of shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge: “He knows the truth of the black hole that his Government left across the board, but he did nothing in defence to get a grip of the budgets, he did nothing to decommission out-of-date kit, and I’m taking the action now to strengthen defence for the future.
“These decision were overdue. The service chiefs support these changes, it means we can move more rapidly, as we must.”
Decisions about the future of decommissioned equipment have not yet been made, Healey says
15:00 , Jabed AhmedDecisions about the future of decommissioned equipment “have not yet been made”, Defence Secretary John Healey has said.
Chairman of the Defence Select Committee, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, said: “It’s right that old platforms are being retired and we’re transitioning to newer equipment, and I’m also glad to note that it has the full backing of our military chiefs.
“However, this is being implemented without the full findings of the strategic defence review being announced, and obviously there are cost implications.”
The Labour MP added: “Will the unrequired kit be either sold to allies or be given to Ukraine?”
Mr Healey replied: “These are decisions I have taken now, as I said in my statement, that both help us to get a grip of the MoD budget now and to create greater scope to better implement the strategic defence review when it reports. These are decisions that as I have said are overdue, they are decisions that were ducked by previous ministers in the previous government.
“Further decisions about what to do with the decommissioned equipment have not yet been made, but I will make sure that when I make those decisions I will inform his committee.”
Spending cuts indicate how ‘tight resourced’ ministry of defence is, says think tank
14:58 , Jabed AhmedThe Royal United Services Institute’s Military Sciences Director Matthew Savill said: "These are mostly capabilities that are approaching retirement anyway, have been at low levels of readiness or aren’t worth further refits or investment (Watchkeeper is probably obsolete).
“But the fact that Defence either can’t crew them, or is prepared to cut them to make very modest savings over five years in the current international environment is an indication of just how tight resources must be in the MOD right now.
“In particular, the Defence Review will be under pressure to set out the future role of the Royal Marines; how the Navy will bring into service and sustain more escorts, which are the workhorses of the fleet; and the impact upon helicopter capacity and procurement."
Pictured: HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark
14:53 , Jabed Ahmed
Tories say Labour will have to ‘own the consequences’ of cuts to Royal Navy
14:50 , Jabed AhmedShadow defence secretary James Cartlidge blamed Rachel Reeves for the plans, announced by Defence Secretary John Healey.
He said: “Whatever the Chancellor’s true grasp of economics, she’s certainly been able to force her priorities onto the country, getting the MoD to scrap major capabilities before they’ve undertaken the department’s much vaunted strategic defence review.
“They’ve killed off North Sea oil, undermining our energy security; this week they are killing off the family farm and threatening our food security. Today they’re scrapping key defence capabilities and weakening our national security.
“Labour have made their choices; they own the consequences.”
Mr Cartlidge said he had been assured former flagships HMS Bulwark and HMS Albion could have been made battleworthy in the event of a war.
He said: “I personally sought and received assurances from the Navy’s leadership… that in the event of a full-scale war fighting scenario where the priority for the navy was literal capability, those ships could have still been regenerated to a condition able to fight, and the crews found.”
He added: “Permanently scrapping the landing ships means we remove that capability entirely. So, what impact will this have on the operational effectiveness of the Royal Marines?
“MRSS (multi-role support ship) is intended to fill the gap but will be at least eight to nine years away. Is he still committed to MRSS?”
No redundancies would be made as a result of ‘common sense decisions’, says Healey
14:49 , Jabed AhmedDefence Secretary John Healey said no redundancies would be made as a result of the “common sense decisions”.
He said: “They have provided a valuable capability over the years, but their work is done. We must look now to the future. And all current personnel will be redeployed or re-trained. No one will be made redundant.”
He added: “Be in no doubt the future for our Royal Marines and their elite force will be reinforced in the SDR (strategic defence review).
“These are common sense decisions which previous governments failed to take, decisions that will secure better value for money for the taxpayer and better outcomes for the military.
“Decisions which are all backed by the chiefs and taken in consultation with SDR reviewers. Allies have been informed, and we have constant dialogue with Nato.
“These will not be the last difficult decisions I will have to make to fix the defence inheritance that we were left with, but they will help get a grip of finances now, and they will give greater scope to renew our forces for the future as we look towards the strategic defence review and to 2.5% (of GDP spent on defence).”
Healey announces former Royal Navy flagships will be decommissioned
14:48 , Jabed AhmedDefence Secretary John Healey has announced former Royal Navy flagships HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark will be decommissioned as part of a series of money-saving cuts.
At the House of Commons despatch box, Mr Healey told MPs: “I’ve introduced tight financial controls on the department, including a £300 million reduction in planned consultancy spending. We’re getting a grip of MoD (Ministry of Defence) budgets and investing in people and in future technologies.”
He added: “For too long our soldiers, sailors, aviators have been stuck with old, outdated equipment because ministers wouldn’t make the difficult decommissioning decisions.
“As technology advances at pace, we must move faster towards the future. So today, with full backing from our service chiefs, I can confirm that six outdated military capabilities will be taken out of services.
“These decisions are set to save the MoD £150 million over the next two years and up to £500 million over five years, savings that will be retained in full in defence.”
Mr Healey said he would retire HMS Northumberland “a frigate with structural damage that makes her simply uneconomical to repair”, 46 Watchkeeper Mark I uncrewed aircraft systems, and a 14-year-old army drone “which technology has overtaken”.
The Defence Secretary also announced the decommissioning of HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark which he described “landing ships both effectively retired by previous ministers but superficially kept on the books at a cost of £9 million a year”.
