'Embarrassing', 'Upsetting', 'They've let them down': Royal Navy veterans criticise state of fleet and forces
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The group of veterans gave decades of their lives between them in service, and are disgruntled by the current state of affairs
Disappointed veterans have bemoaned the state of the Royal Navy and armed forces - believing that successive governments have promised much and not delivered.
Former service personnel who spoke to The News during Armed Forces Day on Southsea Common yesterday (June 20) - who have served for decades between them - are angry and upset about the current situation surrounding funding and their direction. Their feelings are more pronounced given conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the US-Israeli coalition and Iran.
Many also believed the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has wasted vital resources. Tony May, 68 - a former Royal Navy Petty Officer who served for 24 years - is among them. The Portsmouth resident told The News: “It’s a little bit upsetting.
“Successive governments have let the forces down. It’s not just governments, it’s the MoD as well, in how they spend the money. Even in my time, a lot of money was wasted. Hopefully, they’ve had an awakening with what’s happened in the Gulf. Maybe that’ll cause them to invest a bit more, and spend the money more wisely.”
Resignations and pressure to do more
The country’s national security has been put more under the spotlight. A year ago, the Strategic Defence Review set out bold reforms for how the armed forces need to transform over the next decade. This included adapting the Royal Navy into a hybrid force, where conventional warships work alongside autonomous capabilities and drones.
Part of this is the hybrid carrier air wing, which involves HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth fighting alongside Type 26 frigates, un-crewed surface and subsurface vessels, and other equipment. All 62 recommendations in the SDR were passed
The Defence Investment Plan (Dip) was due to set out the financial parameters for these changes. Scheduled to be released in the autumn of 2025, it has still not been published months later.
Defence secretary John Healey and defence minister Al Carns, a former Royal Marines, have both resigned over the policy paper. In his resignation letter, Mr Healey said he could not support policies that would put serving personnel in harms way. He added that the Dip only sets out an increase in defence spending to 2.68 per cent of GDP by 2030, and an extra £13.5bn instead of the recommended £28bn.
“Embarrassing”
Tony Long, 64, of Hilsea, served in the British Army Royal Engineers for 12 years and retired as a Lance Corporal. The veteran served during the Falklands War and during other deployments. He said he was ashamed that German and Spanish ships had to take on roles which should have been done by the Royal Navy.
After HMS Dragon was deployed to the Middle East, no British replacement was earmarked for Nato’s Standing Maritime Groups 1. She was replaced by the German frigate FGS Sachsen, partially operated by UK crews.
“If there is a war, we can’t do it,” he added. “It’s embarrassing. The Army is struggling with old equipment. It’s just getting ridiculous. I can understand why people are leaving the forces. They’re not getting the backing from the government. We do need a change, but one or two of us can’t do it. It has to be the country itself.”
Adam Peters, a former Royal Navy Commander who served in the force for 30 years, feels a similar way about the size of the fleet. Modern Type 26 and 31 frigates are still be constructed and aren’t due to be rolled out until the late 2020s and early 2030s. This is while many of the aging Type 23s are falling into disrepair.
Mr Peters, 73, of Southsea, said: “Quite frankly, it’s embarrassing. I was at the Jubilee review in 1977 and the base was awash with ships. We couldn’t even get one destroyer out on time a couple of months ago. You can’t help feeling that successive governments have not funded the Royal Navy and wider armed forces as they should have done. I’m going to stand for prime minister!”
Veteran Stewart Neville-Rutherford, of Cosham, hopes for a more forward thinking approach in the future. He was also frustrated with the mechanical troubles that HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth have faced.
The former Royal Navy Petty Officer, of 23 years service, said: “We’ve literally got a dozen ships and two aircraft carriers, where only one usually works at a time. It’s pretty poor and the fleet is very small. I know we’ve pulled out of a lot of Commonwealth areas and bases, so we don’t need quite a big force, but we need to have a presence around the world. We can’t go too small. We don’t need a massive amount of navy. The way we need to fight a war is totally different to 20 or 30 years ago.”
Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Cllr Abdul Kadir, said it was unfair that the forces, and veterans in the community, are struggling financially. “We must find the money somewhere,” he said. “If you’re giving your life and signing up, you might be shot at any point because you are there to protect the public. I should do my bit to look after you, it’s only right to look after them in any way we can. I don’t think the situation should come to this.”
Martin Douglass, engineering director for maritime and land defence solutions at BAE Systems - the firm that sponsored Armed Forces Day - is a former Royal Navy Commander who served for 27 years. Speaking about the thoughts of his fellow veterans, he said: “I’m not surprised they’re disgruntled.
“We as veterans, we like to think we should give the best to those who are serving now. Like everything else, it’s in a challenging environment. I left the navy at the end of the peace dividend, when we were having to cut down and put the money elsewhere.
“These things work in cycles. I’m sure between the First and Second World Wars, people were saying we’re not spending the money in the right places. You can’t spend the money everywhere all the time. If we’re coming back up that cycle where money needs to be refreshed in defence, we need to learn the lessons and spend it in the right places and utilise what we’ve got.”
Mr Douglass added that the MoD needs to be clear about what force it wants to develop, and allocate the finances accordingly. He said due to historical systems being in place, change can happen but at a slower pace than many would like.
“We’ve got two expensive carriers in Portsmouth. They’re both able to be at sea at the moment, let’s utilise them in the way they were designed and adapt them to meet new technologies without losing what we do need.
“The Navy travels around the world and represents itself. Unfortunately, you’re not going to do that with 1,000 small drones. You still need big platforms to represent yourself in peace time, but you have to adapt to any upcoming wars.
“There’s a real opportunity for industry to evolve. Yes, people will always be disgruntled about money, but we still spend a lot on defence, just not where it needs to be in the next two to three years. That’s what the Dip needs to do. Let’s get it right.”
The government has repeatedly pledged that the UK will meet Nato’s target of spending 3.5 per cent of GDP on core defence spending by 2035. Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer previously said the Dip will give the resources the armed forces require.