Britain on Monday scrapped plans for a new “national flagship” to host trade events and promote its post-Brexit interests around the world, as the government cuts spending amid gloomy economic forecasts.
The ship, championed by former prime minister Boris Johnson after Britain’s departure from the European Union, was to provide a global platform for high level trade negotiations as well as British businesses’ products.
It was also expected to play a role in delivering the country’s foreign and security policies, including by hosting summits and other diplomatic talks.
But new leader Rishi Sunak and defence minister Ben Wallace have torpedoed the plans as finance minister Jeremy Hunt prepares to deliver a painful financial statement on November 17.
“In the face of the Russian illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and (Vladimir) Putin’s reckless disregard of international arrangements designed to keep world order, it is right that we prioritise delivering capabilities which safeguard our national infrastructure,” Wallace told parliament.
He told MPs he had “directed the termination of the national flagship competition with immediate effect” in order to bring forward the first multi-role ocean surveillance ship (MROSS) in its place.
Wallace said the MROSS would “protect sensitive defence infrastructure and civil infrastructure” and “improve our ability to detect threats to the seabed and cables”.
The main opposition Labour party’s defence spokesman John Healey said it was right that the “previous prime minister’s vanity project” had been scrapped.
It would have been be the first so-called national flagship in service since 1997, when the Royal Yacht Britannia was decommissioned.
Britain formally left the EU after nearly five decades of membership in January 2020, quitting its single market and customs union.
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