Navy 'must depend on foreigners' as Harriers axed

Naval commanders will have to rely on foreign air power to protect their warships because of the decision to scrap Britain's fleet of Sea Harriers before replacements come into service, MPs warned yesterday.

Members of the Labour-dominated Defence Select Committee entered the bitter row over the decision to decommission the Harriers by 2006, warning that it would cut the number of aircraft available for use on the Navy's aircraft carriers by a third.

Their report said: "The withdrawal of the Sea Harrier appears to leave the Royal Navy without an air defence aircraft until the introduction of the Joint Strike Fighter from 2012."

The introduction of the new Type 45 destroyers from 2007 would provide the Navy with new defences against missile attack. But the MPs warned that the warships "will not replicate the capabilities lost with the decommissioning of the Sea Harrier".

The report quoted the new deputy chief of defence staff, Sir Jock Stirrup, and argued that "Sir Jock was clear that he would have preferred to have retained a viable Sea Harrier in service 'because we will be without one of the layers of air defence; the aircraft layer'".

Bernard Jenkin, the shadow Defence Secretary, said: "Ultimately, ministers could be gambling with the lives of our servicemen. The fleet will no longer be able to operate beyond the range of shore-based air cover, or outside the umbrella of US forces."