Defence Secretary John Healey has faced heavy criticism on Thursday for seemingly being unaware of the number of warships the Royal Navy actually does left, this has led to accusations of undermining Britain’s stature on the global stage.
During an interview on LBC radio, Healey claimed that the UK had 17 frigates and destroyers; however, the actual number is 13, comprising six Type 45 destroyers and seven Type 23 frigates.
His remarks were made while discussing the borrowing of a German warship for a NATO deployment, following the diversion of HMS Dragon to the Middle East amid rising tensions with Iran.
Conservative MPs called the Defence Secretary’s statements as “truly extraordinary” and “a farce.
Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge pointed out that “Labour ministers didn’t have a single warship in the Middle East for the first time in decades, just as war was starting” and the situation is a “complete shambles.”
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Cartlidge added on Thursday: “Meanwhile, they have failed to deliver promised NATO commitments and instead have had to rely on Germany to meet our obligations in the Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea. All this on the day it was confirmed there will be no Defence Investment Plan before Parliament breaks before Easter.
He is demanding that the Prime Minister to stop “prioritise welfare over Defence spending” as the Ministry of Defence has been left with a “penny-pinching posture which is why they’ve slashed ship availability.
Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty said it was “no wonder that the Royal Navy is in such disarray when the Defence Secretary doesn’t even know how many ships it has without it embarrassingly being whispered in his ear”.
He warned: “At such a dangerous time the country needs a firm grip on defence, not a Defence Secretary who isn’t across the detail and is nine months late in delivering the Defence Investment Plan.
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, described the situation as “embarrassing,” claiming that years of underfunding had made the Navy “virtually inoperable,” and labelled the delayed deployment of HMS Dragon a “debacle.
Farage vowed that under a Reform UK government, we “will bring our armed forces back from the brink.
In defence of using a German vessel, Healey stated that it demonstrated “the strength of the NATO alliance,” insisting that the delay was unavoidable.
He added, “It takes six years to build a warship… I have to make decisions based on what we’ve got.”
Critics have intensified their demands for the Defence Investment Plan, which was due in December last year but has yet to be published, highlighting concerns that Britain lacks a solid defence strategy amid rising international tensions.
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