Secure future of HMS President with funds raised by Libor fines, Chancellor is urged

POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT MPs and peers are calling on the Treasury to help restore one of Britain’s last First World War ships after failing to secure £330,000 of Lottery funding.

HMS President, the last preserved submarine hunter, should be celebrating 100 years of service in the final centenary year of the country’s wartime commemorations. Those celebrations are now in doubt for the historic ship, launched in 1918 to protect the North Atlantic convoys.

Paul Williams, chairman of the HMS President Preservation Trust, said it would be “tragic” if a lack of funding was to “condemn the ship to the scrapyard”. On Tuesday the Trust will launch a restoration campaign in Parliament, where politicians will call for money raised by Libor fines to be awarded in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement.

The fines, levied on banks after it emerged some traders were fixing the London inter-bank lending rate, have been used to support military charities in the UK in previous budgets.

Lord Boyce, the Admiral of the Fleet, said: “This is a cause close to my heart, and represents an important part of the Royal Navy’s history. I am sure that my colleagues in both Houses will want everything done that can be done to protect her legacy.”

Dr Julian Lewis MP, chairman of the House of Commons defence select committee, said: “As the UK’s last preserved submarine hunter we must ensure that her future is secure.”

HMS President has been moored on London’s Victoria Embankment since 1922, and is now used as a venue to host events. She was recently transformed with a “camouflage” paint job. The design was inspired by the geometric shapes used to mislead enemy U-boat captains during the First World War.

During the Second World War she served as an anti-aircraft battery on the Thames, protecting London landmarks such as St Paul’s Cathedral.

She also acted as a training centre for the Royal Navy throughout the Cold War. A petition to save the ship has received more than 10,000 signatures, which means the Government will have to make an official response.

Mr Williams added: “The fact that more than 10,000 people from all over the UK have so quickly, and so readily, put their name to a petition to protect a piece of our country’s history, I think shows the strength of feeling for this important vessel.”