Fury as Starmer scraps plans to replace 13 ageing Royal Navy ships in favour of drones | Politics | News
Keir Starmer has reportedly abandoned plans to replace 13 old Royal Navy ships with drones (Image: Getty)
Keir Starmer’s decision to cancel plans to replace 13-year-olds Royal Navy The Defense Investment Plan (DIP)’s preference for unmanned aerial vehicles for ships has sparked outrage. The DIP reportedly no longer includes money for up to eight Type 83 destroyers or five Type 32 frigates.
Instead, autonomous vehicles will be given greater priority as the Government moves towards modernizing the British Armed Forces against a backdrop of increasing threats from Russia and others.
However, Shadow Defense Secretary James Cartlidge said: Daily Express: “This is too little, too late for Labor to defend itself.”
He added: “If true, these reports suggest Labor’s long-delayed defense plan will have only marginally more cash than its predecessor – which former defense secretary John Healey said in his resignation letter would make Britain ‘less safe’. How could this change with such a small cash addition?”
“So it is no surprise that we are hearing reports of capabilities being scrapped just at a time when we are planning to strengthen our Armed Forces.”
Defense Minister Dan Jarvis said on Saturday that talks with the Treasury on DIP have made progress in recent days.
Mr Jarvis’s predecessor left his Cabinet post earlier this month because the DIP would only provide £13.5bn of extra investment in defence, which he said was “vastly inadequate” to what was needed.
Reports show that just £1bn has been added to the DIP since Mr Healey resigned, above the amount he was offered.
Mr Cartlidge said: “It is now clear that the lack of cash available for defense is due to Labor prioritizing welfare spending over proper funding of our military.”
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He added: “This is a big reason why Starmer had to resign, and after delaying the DIP for months, he suddenly rushes it in at the last minute in a desperate bid to secure some sort of legacy.
“This is no way to run a country, and the brilliant men and women of our Armed Forces deserve much better.”
The Royal Navy’s Type 45 air defense destroyers were to be retired by the late 2030s and replaced by Type 83s.
Type 32 frigates haven’t even left the concept stage yet. They were to be used for mine hunting and as launch pads for anti-submarine drones.
Ministers are planning to fill the gap in frigate numbers by creating a new “crewless systems taskforce” at a drone facility in Swindon. TimesThis first reported Sir Keir’s plan to cancel the replacement of ships.
Sir Keir is expected to continue publishing the DIP ahead of the NATO summit on 7 July. This comes despite major policy and spending commitments being paused across the Government in preparation for the handover of power to a new Prime Minister in the coming weeks.
The move could potentially cause friction with his potential successor Andy Burnham, who may want to have the final say on the military’s future funding.
The government has told parliament it has delivered a generational increase in defense spending with an extra £270bn.
He added: “DIP will put the best kit in the hands of our Armed Forces. Work on the plan is continuing rapidly to finalize and publish the plan before the NATO summit.”
