§ Mr. Michael Brownasked the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to replace those frigates in Her Majesty's Navy which have been found to have design faults.
§ Mr. SpeedI presume that my hon. Frend is referring to recent publicity given to alleged shortcomings in the design of the Type 21 frigate. I am pleased to report that the criticism was unjustified: these vessels are proving to be extremely effective and popular and there are no plans to pay them off early.