Lord Freeman
Main Page: Lord Freeman (Conservative - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Freeman's debates with the Ministry of Defence
(6 years, 10 months ago)
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Lord Freeman (Con)
My Lords, I wish to raise a very specific point for the Minister, concerning the Royal Navy and maintaining its reach.
Her Majesty’s Ship “Queen Elizabeth”—a carrier—is most welcome, and shortly she will enter into full service, but she needs substantial support. For example, she needs submarines underneath her, destroyers to protect her, frigates and, obviously, supply ships and landing craft et cetera. My main concern about the veritable naval armada that is contained, or implied, by these two great, new carriers is the implication for the existing service provided by the Royal Navy, in terms of protection in the Gulf, South Atlantic and Pacific. How will we maintain the proper servicing for an aircraft carrier—indeed, we will have two, with one always at sea—and how can we maintain our worldwide reach, as I believe we should?