‘Warship trade event makes Britannia case’
MINISTERS have “effectively made the case” for a new Royal Yacht Britannia to win trade deals, campaigners say, after the Government used an aircraft carrier to attract overseas investors on a visit to New York.
Liam Fox, the Trade Secretary, hosted trade events on board HMS Queen Elizabeth in New York City’s harbour yesterday “to secure trading ties between UK and US businesses”.
British trade officials used the carrier as a venue to allow UK cyber companies “to present their technology and software to US Fortune 500 companies, in an effort to secure fruitful new deals”, the Government said.
Experts said Dr Fox’s decision to use the carrier in this way demonstrated why Britain needed a new Britannia to win trade deals after Britain leaves the European Union in March.
The Daily Telegraph is campaigning to commission a new Royal Yacht Britannia to connect the UK with Commonwealth nations and help secure trade deals. The last one was controversially decommissioned in 1997.
Cdre Tony Morrow, Britannia’s last captain, said that the use of HMS Queen Elizabeth in this way “certainly underlines the absence of such a ship these days assisting the UK’S Trade interests abroad”.
He added: “The nature of these events being hosted in this manner is to be applauded and shows how well a ship might be used in this role.”
Ian Maiden, a businessman who is leading the campaign for a new yacht, said in a letter to The Daily Telegraph today: “Evidence is gathering to support the case for building a single-purpose, high-profile ship to be available permanently for such occasions.
“The Government’s decision to use the aircraft carrier to win trade deals makes the case for a new yacht.”
SIR – Dr Liam Fox, the Trade Secretary, is this week hosting an important series of trade events in New York aboard Britain’s new aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth.
It was only by good fortune that this vessel happened to be on hand in the US to serve as a prestigious backdrop for these critical discussions.
Evidence is gathering to support the case for building a single-purpose, high-profile ship to be available permanently for such occasions. The Government’s decision to use the aircraft carrier to win trade deals makes the case for a new yacht.
We all know how effective HMY Britannia proved to be during her latter years in helping to clinch some massive trade deals on behalf of this country. What we need now is a new version of that ship.
The vessel would not be a royal yacht as such but, rather, a dedicated sales and promotions platform, traversing the oceans in the interests of Britain. If ever there was a time for a national morale boost, it is now.
We need to use every sales tool at our disposal to consolidate new opportunities available in the world once we are released from the confines of the EU. Ian Maiden
Chairman
The New Flagship Company Limited Beaulieu, Hampshire