BEST DEFENCE

THE major international powers are busy flexing their muscles off the coast of Libya with a show of naval might. This is nothing new for the Royal Navy, because it was the British Navy which invented this form of beligerent diplomacy. Unfortunately, the Royal Navy, is not involved on this occasion because the only warships which the Navy which once ruled the waves could muster is a frigate which will be scrapped as soon as it returns to Britain and a destroyer whose sister ships were sunk during the Falklands war.

The United States has sent two aircraft carriers, France has sent a helicopter carrier, but the Royal Navy can´t send anything of that type until 2020, when the new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers are commissioned. The sweeping defence cuts announced by the coalition were rather short-sighted to say the least when they were unveiled last year. The Libya crisis has exposed the dangers of slashing a defence budget at a time of world turmoil. In the meantime Prime Minister David Cameron is busy sabre rattling and talking about setting-up no-fly zones over Libya. Perhaps, he should place the Battle of Britain memorial flight or the Red Arrows on standby because sadly speaking that is almost all that is left of Britain´s once strong military.