'More admirals than warships', Royal Navy branded weak as Defence Secretary struggles on fleet's size

The Royal Navy was facing growing criticism over its effectiveness as Defence Secretary John Healey struggled to say how many warships it has. The Cabinet minister came under fire after been grilled on how many frigates there are in the navy as he took to the airwaves to say British forces may now intercept Russian “shadow fleet” vessels in the Channel. “We have...we have...we have...we have...we have...we have 17 frigates and destroyers,” he told LBC Radio. “It’s down from 23 at the end of the last Labour government.”