Warships 'due to move Navy base'

The move is part of an MoD review into the future of UK naval bases Naval move would 'devastate' city

The Royal Navy dockyard at Plymouth is to have all of its frigate warships transferred to Portsmouth, Ministry of Defence sources have told the BBC.

Portsmouth is set to become the home of almost all the Navy's warships.

Portsmouth had been expected to lose out to Plymouth as part of an MoD review to cut over-capacity and costs.

An MoD source said it "makes sense" to have all the Navy's frigates and destroyers in Portsmouth, as the city was home to the fleet headquarters.

The review, which began in 2006, looked at the three UK Navy bases in Plymouth, Portsmouth and Faslane.

BBC South has learned of the decision ahead of an official announcement by the MoD, expected in the next few weeks.

DEVONPORT Founded in 1691 Employs 4,800 Sole UK refitting base for Vanguard nuclear missile-firing submarines

At present Portsmouth is home to the Navy's two operational aircraft carriers, six frigates and seven destroyers.

MoD sources have told the BBC that 11 frigates currently based at Plymouth's Devonport dockyard will move to Portsmouth as a result of the review.

The MoD source said: "Portsmouth is the home of the Royal Navy and it will be the home of the operational fleet.

"It makes sense to have all the navy's frigates and destroyers in Portsmouth as the city is already the home of fleet headquarters and has the infrastructure to support operational ships.

'Efficient and logical'

"The changes to be announced are the most efficient and most logical way of using Britain's three naval bases."

The MoD's official response in a statement said: "Work on the Maritime Change Programme (MCP) is ongoing but no final decisions on the programme have been taken and no date for an announcement has been planned."

Portsmouth's naval dockyard currently employs more than 17,000 people and is home to about two-thirds of the Royal Navy's surface ships.

Mike Hancock MP tells BBC South why Portsmouth is the "obvious location"

Devonport, which in area is western Europe's largest naval shipyard, employs 4,800 people and is the UK's sole refitting base for Vanguard submarines, which provide the UK's strategic nuclear deterrent with Trident nuclear missiles.

It is understood Devonport will retain its submarines and amphibious assault ships as well as re-fit work.

Nuclear submarine base Faslane is expected to be largely unaffected by the review.

Tim Jones, of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council, said if confirmed any relocations of naval frigates to Portsmouth would "be a bombshell" and would have "quite devastating repercussions for Plymouth and the surrounding area".

"If the transfer of the frigates goes ahead, we are likely to experience a significant shift in terms of basic employment and core manufacturing which will be difficult to absorb."

Plymouth Sutton MP and House of Commons Defence Select Committee member Linda Gilroy said she had been assured earlier in 2009 there would be no changes made to the base-porting of ships within the next five years.

PORTSMOUTH Founded in 1194 Employs 17,200 Home to almost two-thirds of the Royal Navy's surface ships

However Mike Hancock, MP for Portsmouth South and also a member of the Defence Select Committee, said: "It's going to be great news for Portsmouth."

He said it "put into place the final part of the jigsaw" regarding the Navy's shore-based future over the next 25 years, "possibly longer".

"It will mean that virtually the whole of the surface fleet, including the two new carriers, will be port-based here in Portsmouth.

"I think it's great news for the city as a whole, super news for the naval base."

He said there had been a "cloud of despair right across the city" when the naval base review had been first announced in 2006 and there had been speculation that nearly 20,000 jobs could be lost.