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'Victory should stay in the navy'
THE overwhelming majority of people want HMS Victory to stay with the navy.
In a massive show of support for Nelson's flagship, more than 90 per cent of News readers said they want her kept in the hands of the navy.
Across a web, phone and text vote participants rounded on the possibility that Victory could be handed to a private firm, with not one person out of nearly 500 backing the move.
After The News revealed last week that the navy was reviewing funding options for HMS Victory, we asked readers how they thought the flagship should be run.
The Ministry of Defence said it was consulting hundreds of groups over whether Victory could be run by another government department, a charity, or a company limited by guarantees that Victory would remain a commissioned warship and fly the White Ensign. The fourth option is to retain the status quo.
The original web, phone and text vote revealed 92 per cent of respondents want Victory to stay under navy control,
There was three per cent backing for the ship to go to another Government department, five per cent thought she should go to a charity, and nobody at all saying she should be run privately.
Portsmouth North MP Sarah McCarthy-Fry said: 'This poll reflects the fear people have that Victory could be given away, but I would never support anything that sees Victory leaving Portsmouth or losing her commissioned status.
'The navy faces the difficulty that Victory, while owned by the MoD, has not got large access to charity funds.
'That means they have to look at less popular options to ensure the long-term future of our most historic ship.'
The poll results add weight to a petition launched on the Downing Street petition by Portsmouth councillors, which has been signed by more than 300 people including Yorkshire MP Bob Spink.
Launched by Portsmouth city councillor Alistair Thompson and Tory candidate for Portsmouth North, Penny Mordaunt, it calls for the Government to keep Victory firmly in the hands of the navy.
The Ministry of Defence has set no closing date for consultation on the future of the ship.
A second web poll run by The News about the navy funding review, to complement a story we were running on reaction to the possibility of Victory being given away, produced a bizarre set of results.
More than 95 per cent of respondents in this poll said Victory should be given to a private firm. There did not appear to be a technical problem but it is possible to vote multiple times in web polls.
The Save our Ships campaign aims to prevent historic naval ships from going to rot.
With the Heritage Protection Bill due to be debated when Parliament sits in the autumn, we are calling for ships to be included alongside permanent buildings.
Ships are vulnerable as they have no formal listed status, meaning vessels can be altered or partly demolished in a way protected houses cannot.
With legal protection, it would make it easier for groups to lobby for funding to preserve ships
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Weather for Portsmouth
Sunday 12 February 2012
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