During his first session in front of the newly constituted Commons defence select committee, Mr Healey was asked directly about the fate of the carriers – HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales – by Labour MP Emma Lewell-Buck.
Mr Healey, who had been discussing the strategic defence review he launched when he took office in July, warned MPs that the government needed to show “realism and honesty the commitments we can make to allies and we make in committing our own forces”.
On Wednesday, he had given a surprise statement in the Commons about £500m of cuts, including scrapping the Royal Navy’s two remaining amphibious assault craft, 31 helicopters (14 Chinooks and 17 Pumas), the watchkeeper drones and a frigate HMS Northumberland.
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