Today’s defence news includes the naming of Portsmouth Naval Base’s new aircraft carrier jetty and Sergeant Alexander Blackman’s appeal.
New Portsmouth Jetty Opened
A number of outlets, including ITV Meridian, BBC News Online, The Daily Mail Online, The Wiltshire and Gloucestershire Standard and The Southern Daily Echo, report that the Princess Royal officially opened a jetty which will be home to the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers. The Princess Royal unveiled a plaque at Portsmouth Naval Base at the giant berth which has been named after her.
The 90-year-old jetty has been upgraded and strengthened to support the 65,000-tonne Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. Her Royal Highness met some of the workers involved in the two-year refurbishment, as well as Navy bomb disposal experts responsible for safely disposing of historic ordnance. A number of Second World War bombs have been dredged up during work to prepare the harbour ahead of the arrival of the first of the new carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth, later this year. More than three million cubic metres of clay, sand and gravel have been moved from an area the size of 200 football pitches as part of the dredging work.
Minister for Defence Procurement, Harriett Baldwin, said:
The work on The Princess Royal Jetty is a fantastic example of how we are investing in the future of the Royal Navy and is the culmination of £100m of infrastructure upgrades in Portsmouth in preparation for our two new aircraft carriers.
The Queen Elizabeth class carriers, together with our F-35 jets will transform our ability to project power around the world.
Sergeant Alexander Blackman
There is continued coverage of Sergeant Alexander Blackman’s appeal in The Telegraph, Daily Star, The Times, The Scotsman, and Daily Mail.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said:
We have fully co-operated with each stage of Sergeant Blackman’s case, which has now involved a criminal investigation, a court martial and the appeal process, and will continue to provide personal support to the family, as we have done since charges were first brought. We respect the court’s decision and it would be inappropriate for us to comment further on it.
Image: LPhot Paul Hall
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