UK politics - live: Backlash against £500m defence cuts on ‘sad day’ for Navy and Army
Defence secretary John Healey says savings would be worth £500 million over the next five years
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.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”.
Elon Musk to be summoned by MPs to testify about X’s role in UK summer riots
Elon Musk will be summoned by MPs to testify about the role of his social media platform X in spreading disinformation during the riots which rocked England and Northern Ireland over the summer.
The questioning will come as part of a Commons science and technology select committee, where senior executives from Meta – the parent company of Facebook and Instagram – as well as from TikTok are also expected to be called for questioning.
The first evidence sessions are expected to take place in the new year.
Read the full article here:
Elon Musk to be summoned by MPs to testify about X’s role in summer riots
The tech billionaire will be invited to give evidence to a House of Commons select committee next year
State of UK fleet a ‘national disgrace’
The former naval chief Admiral Lord Alan West said he wasn’t surprised the ships and aircraft had been taken out of use to help save £500m as the UK’s forces had been “hollowed out” under the previous government.
“The fact that we’ve allowed ourselves to be in a position where our great maritime nation has nine frigates and six destroyers, and of those nine frigates, only six are operational, is an absolute, national disgrace,” he said.
Lord West repeated his calls for the government to commit to building multi-role support ships to replenish the navy’s amphibious capabilities, and restore stocks of weapons sent to Ukraine in its defence against Russian invasion.
“We’ve got to show him we mean business - Putin,” he said. “If you suddenly say, right, we’re actually going to increase our spending to 3 per cent (of GDP) let alone 2.5 per cent, now we’re going to put in orders for these ships … a whole raft of things like that, that shows him we mean business. And when you show you mean business, that does deter people,” he said.
Armed Forces watchdog will be ‘powerful independent voice’ for troops – Healey
A 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
The Commissioner will have the power to hear directly from service personnel and family members.
Former British Navy chief warns Putin will be watching British military
The 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’
John 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
Read the full report from our political editor David Maddox below:
Amphibious assault ships and 31 helicopters to be scrapped in major defence cuts
Defence secretary John Healey announced the UK will scrap warships, military helicopters and amphibious assault ships
Shadow defence secretary asks if Ukraine will receive decommissioned helicopters or drones
Shadow 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
The 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’
Lord 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
Defence 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.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments