A £250 million scheme to create a successor to the Royal Yacht Britannia has been scrapped as part of a squeeze on government spending.
The national flagship plan was sunk by Rishi Sunak’s administration as Whitehall braced for cuts in the November 17 autumn statement by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
The plan was championed by Boris Johnson when he was prime minister, but has faced criticism from MPs at a time when there are other priorities for defence spending
.Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told MPs he was prioritising the procurement of the multi-role ocean surveillance ship (MROSS) instead of the flagship.
