Minister Says 2nd Aircraft Carrier’s Failure to Join NATO Exercises ‘Unacceptable’
Published on February 12, 2024
Security minister Tom Tugenhat has said it is “not acceptable” that the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales remains in dock rather than replacing its broken sister ship and sailing out to take part in NATO exercises off the coast of Norway. The ship’s departure from Portsmouth on Sunday was postponed at the last minute, but Mr. Tugendhat said the carrier should be out “defending our interests abroad.” Last week HMS Queen Elizabeth was forced to cancel its own deployment after suffering a problem with its starboard propeller. Operation Steadfast Defender is due to take place between February and the end of May and is billed as “the first large scale NATO exercise where new defence plans will be put into action.”...