Navy helicopters grounded for tests

Problems uncovered with the fleet of Royal Naval Lynx helicopters will not affect operational duties of the armed forces, the Government insisted yesterday.

Fatigue in the aircraft's rotor mechanism has prompted checks of all 44 of the Navy's frigate-based helicopters. The Ministry of Defence had said it would be two years before the fleet was back to full strength.

Lewis Moonie, a Defence minister, said yesterday that only training helicopters would be grounded. Dr Moonie told BBC radio: "It is obviously a difficult situation, but I have to say it is not quite as bad as it sounds."

He said the problem was with a replaceable hub within the rotor mechanism. "It is not a matter of grounding the helicopter, it is a matter of changing the hub," he said.

Dr Moonie said crews would have to "double up" for training exercises and stressed there would be no danger to personnel during the investigations and repairs.

The army in Northern Ireland disclosed later that it had also withdrawn eight of its Lynx helicopters from service because of the safety scare.

A spokesman at military headquarters in Lisburn, Co Antrim, emphasised that the reduction in the number of helicopters available for use in the province "does not affect our ability to support the RUC in the province".

The Liberal Democrat defence spokesman, Menzies Campbell, said: "It seemed that nothing else could go wrong for the MoD, but this news is extremely disturbing.

"Our forces can only act effectively when they have the equipment they need. The period of two years until the problem is resolved seems extraordinarily long."