Royal Navy is playing dangerous game

I SHARE your letter writer Bob Gelder’s concerns regarding the amphibious ships HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, both of which are non-operational.

Government policy since 2010 has been to maintain one ship in service with the other in deep reserve.

Last year, Albion completed her six years in service, to be replaced by Bulwark, which had operated between 2012 and 2017.

A sensible arrangement would have been that, during 2021/23, Bulwark would have undergone refit and repair to ensure that she was ready to replace Albion when the latter decommissioned, but she was not ready. The MoD will not say either why this is or when she will recommission.

These ships are the UK’s front line for landing hundreds of Royal Marines by air and by sea, together with tanks, armoured all-terrain vehicles and multi-purpose helicopters.

Irrespective of why Bulwark was not ready to replace Albion last summer, the Navy has an acute problem with regard to recruitment and retention of personnel. It has recently been reported that, in the ten-year period 2014 to 2023, 197,000 applied to join the Navy. 25,000 were rejected and 32,000 were recruited.

That is an average of just 3,200 per annum, but what about the other 140,000? Apparently, they withdrew their applications. Why was this?

There are indications that the entire process is now so convoluted and time-consuming that most applicants (over 70%) give up and look elsewhere for employment.

If politicians, civil servants and admirals cannot sort out these problems – at a time of multiple national threat – they must go.

Chris Cope King’s Nympton, Devon