The upfront cost of renewing Britain’s royal yacht could balloon to £250m – at least £50m more than previously indicated – the defence secretary said at an industry event to launch the national flagship project.
Ben Wallace told a specially convened conference at Greenwich that the replacement for the long-retired Britannia, a pet project of the prime minister, Boris Johnson, would be commissioned at “between £200m and £250m at a firm price”.
That represents a potential 25% increase from the £200m cost previously indicated when Downing Street first announced its plans in late May – and an even greater hike from a £150m target spelled out by the MoD in a tender document last week.
Labour said that Johnson had already “lost control of his vanity yacht”. Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, said: “Labour would scrap the government’s latest pet project and invest taxpayers’ money wisely to tackle crime and the surge in antisocial behaviour.”
But Johnson and Wallace both argued the vessel would pay for its costs “many, many times over” at the event because it will act as a “floating embassy to promote the UK diplomatic and trading interests in coastal capitals around the world”.
Last week, a formal tender issued by the MoD said the bill would be £150m. Defence sources said that figure had represented “an aspiration” and the reason Wallace had said it could reach £250m was because the government wanted to ensure it had the flexibility to ensure an appropriate fit out.
The timetable, Wallace confirmed, would be to invite bids in October and award a contract in December. The ship would be built “in a British shipyard” Wallace said and would be “in the water” by 2024 or 2025.
An argument has raged in government about who would pay for the upfront costs of the ship. But the MoD has agreed to pay for the procurement costs for a vessel whose direct military use was unclear. Defence sources said that the design chosen may allow for dual civil and military use.
Britannia, which was popular with the Queen and the late Prince Philip, was decommissioned in 1997 after 44 years in service and has become a tourist attraction in Edinburgh. The name of the new yacht has not been confirmed but there has been speculation it will be named after the Duke of Edinburgh.
Last month, the Conservative peer and former chancellor, Ken Clarke, called itthe project “silly populist nonsense” and a rear admiral described the plans as resembling an “oligarch’s yacht”.
