Scotland s political leaders dismissed the Prime Minister s royal yacht plan. SCOTLAND S political leaders slammed Boris Johnson s ludicrous plan for a new £200 million royal yacht in the final TV election debate last night.
Patrick Harvie, the Scottish Green leader, called the proposal “an absurdity” while Nicola Sturgeon, Anas Sarwar and Willie Rennie all dismissed the idea. Even Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative chief, distanced himself from it. Ross said he would only support a new royal yacht, which the PM wants to be named HMS Prince Philip after the Duke of Edinburgh, if it were funded by private finance. Sturgeon, the SNP leader, said: “The only reason Boris Johnson has been talking about this is to try to distract attention from the sleaze that is swirling around him and his government. Everybody should see through it and frankly it is one more reason why Boris Johnson should not be the guy making the decisions about the future of Scotland.”
A new national flagship costing up to £200 million is to be named after the Duke of Edinburgh, it was claimed last night.
Reports said the ship was expected to be named HMS Prince Philip and would boost British trade and drive investment in the UK s economy.
The claims sparked speculation that the new vessel would be seen as a successor to the Royal Yacht Britannia, controversially decommissioned by Tony Blair in 1997.
But a Number 10 spokesman stressed last night there were no plans for a new Royal yacht.
They also declined to comment on reports that an announcement by Boris Johnson could come within weeks.
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