'Further cuts' warning as Plymouth Royal Navy ships axed

Two former Royal Navy flagships, a frigate and a pair of support tankers will be decommissioned in cost-saving measures announced by Defence Secretary John Healey.

The savings, which Mr Healey blamed on the "dire inheritance" left by the Tories, will see Devonport-based assault ships HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, which have both been flagships, decommissioned.

Ageing Type 23 frigate HMS Northumberland, also based at HMNB Devonport, is beyond economic repair and will be decommissioned along with two Wave class tankers.

The Army's Watchkeeper drones, which cost around £5 million each and have been in service for a decade but have been beset by problems and are effectively obsolete, will be grounded.

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.

In a statement to MPs, Mr Healey warned that further cuts could be required but insisted he had the support of armed forces chiefs for the decisions he had made.

He said: "For too long our soldiers, sailors, aviators have been stuck with old, outdated equipment because ministers wouldn't make the difficult decommissioning decisions."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 So today, with full backing from our service chiefs, I can confirm that six outdated military capabilities will be taken out of services."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 was dealing with a "dire inheritance, the state of the finances and the state of the forces often hidden to Parliament, billion pound black holes in defence plans, taxpayers' funds being wasted, military morale down to record lows".

The "common sense decisions" announced by the Defence Secretary may not be the last cuts announced.

The Government is carrying out a strategic defence review, which will set out the path to spending 2.5% of gross domestic product on defence although no timetable has yet been set out for that spending commitment.

Mr Healey said: "These will not be the last difficult decisions I will have to make to fix the defence inheritance 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%."

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