Royal Navy: HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth future addressed after mothball rumours spread

John Healey, Labour MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough, responded to a question about HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth in a Defence Select Committee meeting today (November 21). Rumours began to spread that one of the £3.2bn warships would be mothballed in a bid to save money.

The Daily Telegraph reported earlier this week that a discussion was held between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Treasury explore which equipment could be slashed as part of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR). One source told the national publication that it was “unsurprising” that the carriers were brought up, as they were “big expensive pieces of kit”, but added “we are not looking to go down to one” as “it would be quite a big step down for us to go to one carrier”.

Emma Lewell-Buck, Labour MP for South Shields, asked the secretary of state if he could put the rumours to bed once and for all. She added: “Are they safe, or is one going to be mothballed?”

Mr Healey responded: “There are some really important programmes and capabilities across the board, and the strategic defence review is looking across the board at everything. I absolutely do not want you to take that as a signal that any part of the programmes and capabilities at the moment are in jeopardy. This is a question that they are under scrutiny, but not in jeopardy. The decisions that we will take will be in light of the reviewer's analysis when they come to report.”

He added later in the meeting: “I think this committee should take seriously the commitment to the carrier strike group in 2025, where one of our aircraft carriers will spend four to five months in the Indo-Pacific, taking part in military exercises as well as diplomacy and trade. It’s a demonstration of that capability and reach.”