British MoD Denies Report of Royal Navy Ship Reductions

The British Ministry of Defense (MoD) refuted a report that the Royal Navy would reduce the number of ships due to budget pressure. The Sunday Telegraph reported earlier in the day that the MoD has drawn up secret proposals to slash the number of ships in the Royal Navy. The MoD has produced a plan to decommission five warships starting next April, which would reduce the Navy's capability to the level where it could carry out only one small-scale operation, said the report, citing an email from a whistle blowing official inside the department. The official gave details of a disagreement over the allocation of money to the MoD over the next three years, said the report. The deal, sealed under the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) and announced in July, gave the MoD an annual increase of 1.5 percent above inflation for the years 2008-2011, added the report. According to the separate documentation from inside the MoD, the total number of ships in the Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary could fall from the present level of 103 to 76 in 2017 and only 50in 2027 -- a reduction of more than half. [Source: http://mathaba.net]