National lottery could bring back Britannia
MINISTERS are being urged to launch a lottery for a new Royal Yacht Britannia to “showcase post-brexit Britain and bring trade to our shores”.
Fifty Conservative MPS have written to three of Theresa May’s most senior ministers urging them to help “right the wrong” of the Labour government’s decision in 1997 to decommission Britannia.
Using funds from a new national lottery to buy a new royal yacht would allow Britons “the pride of having a stake” in a vessel that would “showcase the best of British business and project our humanitarian role across the globe”, the MPS said.
The MPS’ concept was welcomed by Anthony Morrow, the last captain of HMY Britannia, who told The Daily Telegraph: “A new initiative for a Royal Yacht to replace Britannia is to be warmly welcomed.” The Telegraph has been campaigning for a new Britannia to help win deals for Britain after the United Kingdom leaves the European Union in March 2019.
The letter, which was sent to Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, the International Trade secretary, and Tracey Crouch, a culture minister, said: “We believe that now is the time to commission a new Royal Yacht Britannia as a new symbol of global Britain, designed and built domestically to showcase the best of UK shipbuilding and industry, and as a platform for promoting trade.” The MPS made clear the yacht must be funded from private subscription.
Craig Mackinlay, Conservative MP for South Thanet, said: “To be achievable, we need to generate the money to build her – an estimated £120million. One way of doing this would be to establish a new national lottery.”
In the letter, MPS said: “There would be no call upon departmental budgets and it would be the people of the UK through the unique funding method who would have the pride of having a stake in her.”
The letter was signed by 50 Tory MPS including four former Government ministers, including Andrew Murrison, a former defence minister, and Annemarie Trevelyan MP, a parliamentary private secretary to the current team of defence ministers.
It added: “She should be at the disposal of both Government ministers and the Royal family alike to host diplomatic and commercial events, showcasing post-brexit Britain and bringing trade to our shores.”
The new royal yacht would belong to the UK state, to give her diplomatic immunity when visiting foreign ports, and fly the white ensign, so she is crewed by the Royal Navy. The letter pointed out that during her 40-year service the yacht played a part in 968 official visits and sailed a million miles. On her last deployment to the Far East, commercial deals worth £2.75 billion were signed on board to the benefit of the UK.
A spokesman for Camelot, which runs the National Lottery, said a new game is “a matter for Government”.
HMY Britannia was controversially decommissioned in 1997. A secret naval design for a replacement was drawn up and approved by representatives of the Royal family but the Labour government refused to pay for it.