No final decisions made on sale of Royal Navy assault ships, says minister
Several potential customers have shown interest in buying two decommissioned assault ships although no final decision has been made, according to a defence minister.
MPs heard a government-to-government sale is being explored by the Royal Navy for HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, which were designed to allow Royal Marines to launch amphibious raids.
The two assault ships were already effectively mothballed at a cost of £9 million a year when the Government announced last November that they would be decommissioned.
Reports have suggested the Government could sell the two ships to Brazil for £20 million.
But defence minister Maria Eagle said she did not recognise 'any of the figures that have been bandied around in the newspapers'.
Speaking at defence questions, Labour frontbencher Ms Eagle told the Commons: 'Neither Albion or Bulwark were due to go to sea ahead of their out-of-service dates in 2033 and 2034.
'The Royal Navy is exploring options to sell both HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark in a government-to-government sale.
'Several potential customers have shown interest, but no final decisions have been made.'
Conservative MP Rebecca Smith raised concerns about the sale on her South West Devon constituency.
She said: 'Given the fact that these ships, HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, are reportedly being sold to another navy for a figure that could well undervalue previous spends on refits and maintenance, how does the minister justify the economic impact of their sale on Plymouth and Devonport dockyard, let alone the reduction in amphibious capability in the navy, when the promised multi-role support ships are at least half a decade away from service?'
Ms Eagle replied: 'I don't recognise any of the figures that have been bandied around in the newspapers and so it would not be accurate to take them as anything other than speculation.
'The disposal shows that we are delivering for defence by divesting old capabilities to make way for the future, as the First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key put it.
'Effectively those ships were mothballed by the previous government, so I'm not going to take any lessons from that side of the House about how to deal with these matters.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gizmodo
an hour ago
- Gizmodo
Trump Threatens Musk with ‘Very Serious Consequences' if He Funds Democrats
Trump draws a line. The feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump seems to have gone from a full boil to a simmer over the weekend, but don't rule out the possibility of the heat getting turned up again. In a conversation with NBC News, Trump said he has no interest in making nice with Musk right now, but did make it clear that if the billionaire decides to switch parties and back Democratic candidates, 'he'll have to pay consequences for that.' Trump being Trump, he didn't explain what those potential retaliatory actions might be, just told NBC they will be 'very serious consequences.' Of course, it's not terribly hard to imagine the levers Trump might pull. He has already threatened to cancel the billions of dollars worth of government contracts that Musk's companies currently count on, and his close ally and former advisor, Steve Bannon, has encouraged Trump to investigate Musk as an 'illegal alien,' deport him, and seize control of his companies under the Defense Production Act. So, he's got some ideas to work with. Trump's threat of action against Musk certainly feels like a line drawn in the sand, but the President has otherwise not really escalated the beef since Musk threw the kitchen sink at him. In a series of now-deleted posts, Musk claimed that Trump appears in the Epstein files and has been withholding information in order to protect himself and supported the idea of impeaching the president whom he spent nearly $300 million trying to get into office. Musk took those posts down, but has continued to be critical of Trump. Trump rebuked the attacks in his conversation with NBC, calling the Epstein angle 'old news' and that he had 'nothing to do with' Epstein. 'That's called 'old news,' that's been old news, that has been talked about for years,' he said. Other than that, Trump has basically just decided to wash his hands of Musk—at least for the time being. When asked if his relationship with the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla is over, Trump told NBC, 'I would assume so, yeah.' He also reiterated that he has no intention of speaking with Musk directly and said, 'I'm too busy doing other things' and 'I have no intention of speaking to him.' That remains pretty mild for a guy who is certainly capable of being a bomb thrower, but Trump might have a sense that he will come off better by easing off after Musk flew off the handle. A YouGov poll found that among Republicans, 71% would take his side compared to just 6% who said they would throw their backing behind Musk. Even if you expand the survey sample to include Democrats and Independents, Trump comes out ahead with 28% of support compared to just 8% for Musk (though notably, 52% said 'Neither,' so the 'a pox on both your houses' demographic is strong). Politico reported Sunday that aides representing both sides have spoken, and there is something of a mutual truce at the moment to stop the bomb-throwing—though it noted that neither Musk nor Trump wanted to stop. Seems like they are locked in a battle of restraint at the moment, which is not exactly a skill either of them is known to possess. We'll see who breaks the truce first.
CNN
3 hours ago
- CNN
GOP senator defends Trump sending National Guard into Los Angeles
Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin tells CNN's Dana Bash, "If the governor or the mayor of a city isn't willing to protect the citizens of his state or the city, then the president will."
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sound Off: July 8, 2025
Sun Herald readers weigh in on local and national topics. Now that Elon Musk and President Trump have divorced, who gets custody of the country? Will they split custody of Sec. Hegseth, or will he go back to living with his friends at FOX News? Our government needs to be run by the people, not a concentrated group of billionaires whose petty arguments, such as between President Trump and Elon Musk, affect our national objectives, like the space station or our international communications. Their childish behavior is putting personal interests before those of our country. What else can you make of Elon's comment, 'Go ahead, make my day,' in response to Trump's disparaging remarks? Guess all the MAGAs who were frothing at the mouth about the Epstein List will quiet down now that Rocket Boy has pointed the finger at President Taco. Before President Trump, Elon Musk was a guy getting government handouts, blowing up rockets and running Twitter into the ground. Sad that he would turn on our president like that. Guess we found out who is really concerned about the country. The second Elon Musk's wealth was remotely at risk, he turned on the president. It's President Trump who is concerned about our country, not Elon Musk. Since it doesn't have anything to do with tariffs, can we be confident that President Trump is going to hold his $25-million (at least) parade? Or is he going to chicken out on that, too? Democrats circle the wagons, remain silent and loyal, even when ghosting the nation over a decrepit, declining President Biden for four years. Republicans will degenerate into nitpicking and infighting over important legislation, personalities, egos and side issues, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. They've done so over decades. It's stupid, wearisome and self-defeating. For the Mississippi GOP delegation of lawmakers on the Hill, please demand of your GOP colleagues and the White House a cease and desist before you ignorantly lose the remit voters gave you last fall. If you squander these four years, you'll be forever getting a similar chance again. I favor lower taxes for all, and not just those in certain jobs that receive a portion of their wage base in tips.. Because the welder and the plumber and the fireman's wages are not tips, we tax all their wages. Some GOP Representatives have admitted that they hadn't read all the contents in the budget bill they just passed. They just signed it because the House Speaker and President Trump told them to. Now they are using ignorance as an excuse for supporting specific measures that hurt their constituents. Sadly, it's apparently too much to ask of our lawmakers to actually read the bills they vote on. You or I would be fired for not doing our work. Our children would receive failing grades for such effort. But let's keep electing them. Hugh Keating's first thoughts and words after ostensibly winning Tuesday night were, 'this energized the conservatives point of view.' In a red city, in a red county, in a red state, Gulfport had less than 25% of registered voters vote. But the roughly 13K votes were statistically split between the 2 parties. So, let the notion of a mandate quickly fade. Good luck to Keating, but he has been part of the problems Gulfport has, and has not fixed, for at least the last decade and a half. And his campaign's caustic rhetoric, ads, mailings and homer-mouthpieces did nothing whatsoever to show anything will change. Still, Let's hope good ol' boy Gulfport politics die a much-needed death. Guess the next Gulfport candidate will have to offer something more than a free lunch. Send your Sound Offs to soundoff@
