§ 12. Mr. Allen McKayTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the implications of the decommissioning of HMS Warspite.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe decision to decommission HMS Warspite followed the announcement on 25 July by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence, in which he envisaged, in addition to Trident, a future submarine force of around 16 boats, some three quarters of which would be nuclear-powered. This reduction in submarine force levels is to be achieved by decommissioning older, less capable boats, such as HMS Warspite, while retaining the more modern ones in service.