 National security must come before cost cutting, a Labour MP demanded yesterday after it emerged proposals had been drawn up to mothball six more Royal Navy warships.
Sarah McCarthy-Fry, who represents Portsmouth, said she would be lobbying ministers to ensure military considerations were put first. The Ministry of Defence insisted yesterday that no decisions had been taken on the future of the fleet after the Daily Telegraph named vessels being considered for cuts. It said they were Type 22 frigates Cumberland, Chatham, Cornwall and Campbeltown and two Type 42 destroyers, Southampton and Exeter. Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram conceded last month that 13 of the Navy's 44 main vessels were already in a state of reduced readiness – known as mothballing – to save cash. Bringing them back into service can take 18 months. Recently retired Navy chief Admiral Sir Alan West attacked the "outrageous" proposal and one senior officer told the paper it would reduce the Navy to "no better than a coastal defence force" An MoD spokesman said: "We currently have no plans to cut ship numbers.
"We routinely review whether resources are allocated where our frontline forces need them most. No decisions have been taken in this case." He said the MoD was building new destroyers, attack submarines, and support ships for the Royal Navy and planned to sign the production contract this year for two new aircraft carriers. The spokesman branded reports that the historic Portsmouth dockyard would close as "complete speculation", adding: "We are reviewing our bases, and have undertaken to make savings, but no decisions have been taken." Ms McCarthy-Fry said: "It's a concern for Portsmouth, the home of the Royal Navy, especially as we already have the Naval base review. "The first consideration has to be our national security, not the cost." | 
