Ex-NATO commander fumes at ‘craven and contemptible give up’ as Royal Navy renames new assault submarine HMS Agincourt ‘to keep away from annoying the French’
The Royal Navy has been accused of renaming new attack submarine HMS Agincourt to avoid upsetting the French – sparking claims of ‘craven and contemptible surrender’.
The seventh Astute Class boat was due to become the sixth vessel to be named after the 1415 battle, where Henry V routed the forces of France with the help of his legendary longbowmen.
But late on Sunday night the Royal Navy revealed the King had approved its name being changed to HMS Achilles – itself an illustrious name in British military service.
The Senior Service said that the name was ‘appropriate in light of the 80th anniversaries this year of VE and VJ Day’.
But it raised claims that service chiefs wanted to avoid upsetting their allies on the other side of the Channel.
Rear Admiral Chris Parry, a former NATO commander, hit out at ‘craven political correctness and ideology gone mad’.
‘This is just craven and contemptible surrender to, I’m afraid, the ideology being pushed by our Government,’ he told Times Radio.
‘It seeks to erase our history and anything we need to be proud of. I don’t see the French renaming the Gare d’Austerlitz to avoid upsetting the Germans.
‘And I’m now concerned that we might lose Waterloo and Trafalgar Square.’
The seventh Astute Class boat was due to become the sixth vessel to be named after the 1415 battle, where Henry V (played by Kenneth Branagh, below, in a 1989 film) routed the forces of France with the help of his legendary longbowmen.
But late on Sunday night the Royal Navy revealed the King had approved its name being changed to HMS Achilles – itself an illustrious name in British military service.
The retired Royal Navy officer added: ‘This is just craven political correctness and ideology gone mad.
‘And I’ve got no doubt that the admirals will be seething about this. You don’t rename ships once they start getting built.
‘It’s probably payback for the AUKUS deal, where, if you remember, the French were excluded from the submarine deal between Australia, America, and the UK.’
A previous attempt to rename Agincourt was blocked by then defence secretary Grant Shapps.
Mr Shapps last night told the Sun: ‘Renaming the Agincourt is nothing short of sacrilege.
‘This submarine carries a name that honours a defining moment in British history.’
In a statement on X, the Navy said: ‘The 7th Astute-class submarine is to be named HMS Achilles, as approved by The King.
‘The name is appropriate in light of the 80th anniversaries this year of VE and VJ Day. Six ships have previously borne the name, earning six battle honours, including the River Plate and Okinawa.’
A previous HMS Achilles, a Leander Class cruiser, was part of a Royal Navy squadron which fought the German pocket battleship Graf Spee at the battle of the River Plate off South America in December 1939.
The German ship was badly damaged in the fight and was later scuttled by her commander, in one of Britain’s first military victories of the war.
The Astute Class submarine was originally designated Ajax but later had its name changed to Agincourt.
It is due to enter service next year.
A previous HMS Achilles, a Leander Class cruiser, was part of a Royal Navy squadron which fought the German pocket battleship Graf Spee at the battle of the River Plate off South America in December 1939. The German ship was badly damaged in the fight and was later scuttled (above) by her commander, in one of Britain’s first military victories of the war.
The Royal Navy has a growing fleet of Astute Class submarines.
Five are in active service include HMS Astute, Artful, Ambush, Audacious and Anson, with two others, Achilles and Agamemnon, under construction.
The vessel has advanced nuclear technology meaning it will never need to be refuelled.
It can manufacture its own oxygen and fresh water from the ocean and is able to circumnavigate the globe without surfacing.
Astute Class submarines are also equipped with world-leading sensors and carries both Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missiles (TLAM) and Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes.
