Britain on Monday (October 7) cancelled plans to build 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 was championed by former prime minister Boris Johnson after Britain came out of the European Union grouping. It was aimed at providing a global platform for high level trade negotiations and British business 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.
Wallace told the MPs that 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.
(With inputs from agencies)
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