Yacht-stoppers

SIR – Yet again Tony Blair is being blamed for the decommissioning of the Royal Yacht Britannia (report, May 30).

The decision to decommission the ship was in fact made in June 1994 by the then prime minister, John Major. It was argued that the costs of refitting it would be too great.

No immediate decision about a replacement was then made and it became a political issue in the run-up to the general election in 1997. In October that year, the Labour government announced that there would be no replacement. Mr Blair was therefore effectively confirming the decision that had already been made by his predecessor three years earlier. Garry P High

Guildford, Surrey