logo
Royal Navy set to house sailors on Bibby Stockholm-style barge in bid to cut costs

Royal Navy set to house sailors on Bibby Stockholm-style barge in bid to cut costs

The Sun09-07-2025
THE Royal Navy is set to house sailors on a barge like the Bibby Stockholm in a bid to save cash.
Top brass leased a 100-room 'floatel' months after Labour axed a deal with Bibby Stockholm claiming it was not fit for people.
2
2
The crew of flagship aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth are moving to the Sans Vitesse barge when the ship goes in to dock for repairs.
Labour had slammed the Bibby as a 'miserable and dangerous prison ship'.
MPs warned conditions could breach migrants' human rights and it was decommissioned in November.
Critics slammed the move over Dutch-flagged Sans Vitesse in Rosyth, Fife, as 'terrible'.
The MoD said: 'Ministers have asked for other options.
"We will ensure accommodation is suitable.'
A source said: 'This is the most economical option.
'It means the sailors on watch can live right next to HMS Queen Elizabeth, so there is no commuting, and the chefs can still work as chefs in the galley of the Sans Vitesse, so they remain gainfully employed.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Next cashes in on M&S cyber chaos: Wolfson delivers third profit upgrade in just five months
Next cashes in on M&S cyber chaos: Wolfson delivers third profit upgrade in just five months

Daily Mail​

time6 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Next cashes in on M&S cyber chaos: Wolfson delivers third profit upgrade in just five months

Next has raised its profit forecasts as it cashes in on the cyber attack at rival Marks & Spencer. Defying gloom on the High Street, the fashion retailer announced its third upgrade in five months after sales came in £49million higher than anticipated. UK sales in the past 13 weeks were 7.8 per cent higher than a year earlier, which it put down to the weather and M&S's woes. A cyber attack crippled its rival's website orders and caused disruption in shops. This sent shoppers in the direction of competitors, including Next, which sells many of the same third-party brands online. M&S expects a £300million dent to profits this year. By contrast, Next expects £25million in extra profits, meaning that they will pass £1.1billion for the year. Next became just the fourth UK retailer to score £1billion in annual profits last year, joining Tesco, M&S and B&Q owner Kingfisher in a select club. The update came a day after Next said it has saved Seraphine, the maternity brand favoured by the Princess of Wales, by buying it for £600,000. The firm, whose dresses and other clothes were worn by Kate during her pregnancies, crashed into administration last month with the loss of 95 jobs. Next has a record for scooping up brands of collapsed retailers, such as FatFace and Joules. Lord Wolfson, whose insights into the UK's economic health are closely watched, has steered it since 2001. In that time sales have soared, as many have struggled. Yesterday, Pets at Home slashed its annual profit forecast, citing 'subdued' demand, and this week bakery chain Greggs said heatwaves in June dragged profits down. But Next 'remains cautious for the second half' and is not upgrading sales expectations as it will not benefit from disruption at M&S or good weather, while a weak job market will hit sales. It said: 'We expect employment opportunities to continue to diminish as we enter the second half, with the effects of April's National Insurance changes continuing to filter through into the economy. We believe this will increasingly dampen consumer spending.' The worry comes as figures published today show sales in shops grew just 0.8pc this month compared to July 2024. As this was significantly below inflation, it means volumes have plunged for a seventh month in a row, figures from accountants BDO show.

Rolls-Royce rockets towards £100bn: Engine-maker up 1,000% since Turbo Tufan took helm
Rolls-Royce rockets towards £100bn: Engine-maker up 1,000% since Turbo Tufan took helm

Daily Mail​

time6 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Rolls-Royce rockets towards £100bn: Engine-maker up 1,000% since Turbo Tufan took helm

Rolls-Royce shares soared to a record high yesterday as its value hurtled towards £100billion for the first time. On a blockbuster day for investors, the stock rose as much as 12 per cent, taking gains for the year to more than 85 per cent. Rolls is up more than elevenfold – or more than 1,000 per cent – since 'Turbo' Tufan Erginbilgic took over as chief executive at the start of 2023 when the engineer was worth just £7.9billion. Last night it was valued at £89.5billion, making it the fifth-biggest London-listed company. The rally came as growing demand for its engines, which power commercial aircraft and military fighter jets, led it to upgrade profit forecasts. Erginbilgic, who has been credited with turning the 119-year-old company around, now expects profits of between £3.1billion and £3.2billion, having previously targeted £2.7billion to £2.9billion. It came after the Derby firm reported a 50 per cent leap in first-half profits to £1.7billion, while revenues rose 11 per cent to £9.1billion. 'Having already delivered a stellar turnaround, Rolls is showing no signs of taking its foot off the pedal,' said Russ Mould of AJ Bell. 'Rolls is the poster child for what's capable on the stock market – a welcome reminder that Britain has plenty of business champions.' Erginbilgic said it had overcome supply chain and tariff challenges, and was on target for profits of up to £3.9billion by 2028. Demand has been boosted by the recovery of international travel since the pandemic. In the first six months of the year, Erginbilgic said it improved the time its engines spend 'on wing' – meaning the hours engines spend powering planes before needing maintenance. That lifts profits, as Rolls makes money from its engines' flying hours. By increasing durability, Rolls is expecting a more-than-80 per cent improvement in flying time for its Trent engines by 2027. Problems with the Trent 1000, which powers Boeing's 787 models, have caused disruption for airlines including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic. An improved blade certified in June is expected to more than double the time engines are in operation. After upgrades, time 'on wing' would rise to as much as six years, Erginbilgic said. The company has shrugged off the US tariff war, including by taking 'pricing actions' and making cost efficiencies. 'By February we were ready,' Erginbilgic said. 'We didn't know what to predict. In an uncertain world, my personal belief is that a company's job is not to predict what's going to happen but to gear up to respond.' The Rolls chief added: 'Our processes were aligned before tariff numbers hit, we were very quick to go to the mitigations.' Microsoft hits the $4trillion mark Microsoft became the world's second $4 trillion (£3 trillion) company last night following blockbuster results. Shares in the technology giant climbed by as much as 9 per cent in early trading to pass the milestone. It comes less than a month after Nvidia became the world's first $4 trillion firm by market capitalisation. Shares in Facebook owner Meta also soared yesterday – rising as much as 12 per cent – after its own upbeat results. The two companies now have a combined value of £4.5 trillion, which is twice the value of the entire FTSE 100.

Starmer takes on Khan in battle over Heathrow's third runway
Starmer takes on Khan in battle over Heathrow's third runway

Telegraph

time6 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

Starmer takes on Khan in battle over Heathrow's third runway

Sir Keir Starmer is preparing to face down Sir Sadiq Khan and Labour backbenchers to force through a third runway at Heathrow. The west London airport has unveiled the details of its long-awaited £50bn expansion plan, which it said could lift capacity by 80pc to 150m passengers a year. The proposals have the support of the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, who believe airport expansion is essential to boosting Britain's growth. However, the plans have provoked a backlash from Sir Sadiq, who has long opposed a third runway, and some Labour backbenchers. The Mayor of London said on Thursday that airport expansion was not compatible with net zero. Ministers fear Sir Sadiq could launch a legal challenge that would delay expansion by years and add to costs even if it proved unsuccessful. The Prime Minister is prepared to use new laws to block Sir Sadiq from turning to the courts in a bid to get spades in the ground at Heathrow before the end of this parliament. Whitehall sources signalled they were looking at legislation that would stop the Mayor from dragging the decision through the courts. This includes planning reforms announced earlier this year to end the 'challenge culture' that Sir Keir said had delayed many vital infrastructure projects. 'We are looking at introducing legislation to curb the ability of campaigners to use judicial reviews to block infrastructure projects,' said one government source. It follows decades of opposition from environmental campaigners to a third runway at Europe's busiest airport. A source said ministers were preparing for criticism from within Labour. Sir Sadiq said: 'I remain unconvinced that you can have a new runway at Heathrow, delivering hundreds of thousands of additional flights every year, without a hugely detrimental impact on our environment.' The Labour Mayor did not say whether he would seek a judicial review once the plans were formally lodged but warned that he would 'be keeping all options on the table in how we respond.' John McDonnell, Labour's former shadow chancellor, whose Hayes and Harlington constituency would be affected by the proposals, vowed to fight Heathrow expansion 'all the way'. Mr McDonnell said he was already in talks with leaders from other London boroughs about mounting a legal challenge and had 'put money aside' for a long court battle. 'I think it's inevitable there'll be legal action,' he said. 'We've consistently opposed it, and every time we've been to court on this issue, we've won.' Rachel Reeves was largely responsible for reviving the third runway project as part of her push for growth, and allies of the Chancellor said the expansion plan had her 'full-throated' support. In a rebuke to the Mayor, a source said Ms Reeves would do 'what it takes to deliver a third runway'. 'The Chancellor is determined Britain remains the best connected place to do business,' the source said. Ms Reeves has previously stated she wanted 'spades in the ground' by the next election and planes using the runway by 2035. The Chancellor said the new proposals submitted by Heathrow showed Britain was 'one step closer to expanding our biggest airport' in a move she said would 'boost investment in Britain, increase trade for businesses, and create up to 100,000 jobs.' Heathrow's £49bn plan will see a new runway constructed to the north-west of the airport, which will extend over the M25. Two new terminal buildings will be built and existing facilities expanded. The number of annual flights would jump from 480,000 today to as many as 756,000. Heathrow bosses said the new 2.2-mile landing strip would lift capacity to 150 million passengers a year, almost 80pc more than the number who used the airport in 2024. Construction will start as early as 2029, with the runway operational by 2035, though the full expansion of the terminals could take until 2060. The runway itself is projected to cost £21bn. The new terminals would cost £12bn and the modernisation of the existing ones some £15bn. The project will involve the destruction of about 750 homes in the area and the construction of a new section of motorway between junctions 14 and 15 of the M25. Heathrow has said expansion would boost UK GDP by almost 0.5pc by 2050. The plans revive those approved by Parliament in 2018, which means they may not face a further Commons vote unless the Government decides to deviate significantly from that blueprint. It also makes it less likely that the runway will face opposition from within the Cabinet. Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, said: 'I am pleased to have received the initial Heathrow expansion proposals – a significant step towards unlocking growth, creating jobs, and delivering this vital national infrastructure to drive forward our Plan for Change. 'We'll review proposals over the summer and move quickly to progress this transformational project.' Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, previously opposed Heathrow expansion but more recently insisted it would be 'ridiculous' to resign over the issue. He said the Government's position was that airport expansion could go ahead so long as it was compatible with the UK's legal-binding carbon budgets. It is understood that this position remains unchanged. The latest budget, published by the independent Climate Change Committee earlier this year, did not explicitly rule out airport expansion. However, it did say that the aviation industry's emissions – which primarily come from aircraft exhausts – needed to fall by 17pc between 2023 and 2040. It means Heathrow must set out ways to reduce the emissions of aircraft that use the hub in order to argue that a third runway is compatible with net zero. In its report, the Climate Change Committee said the aviation sector could lower emissions through greater investment in green technologies such as sustainable aviation fuels, hydrogen fuel cells or electric aircraft, or by reducing demand for flying. Another potentially contentious element of the plans is its impact on the M25, the country's busiest motorway. Heathrow's plans call for the M25 to be diverted into a tunnel at a cost of £1.5bn so that a full-length runway can be built above it. Airport bosses insisted this would not cause disruption to motorists. A new section of road 130 meters west of the existing M25 would be built in its entirety. Vehicles would then be diverted onto the new section at an agreed time so that the current M25 could be closed and the runway extended towards the east. Thomas Woldbye's Heathrow's chief executive, said: 'It has never been more important or urgent to expand Heathrow. We are effectively operating at capacity to the detriment of trade and connectivity. 'With a green light from [the] Government and the correct policy support underpinned by a fit for purpose regulatory model, we are ready to mobilise and start investing this year in our supply chain across the country.' Eighty-four million passengers flew from Heathrow in 2024, averaging 230,000 per day. This put it ahead of rivals including Amsterdam Schiphol, Frankfurt and Paris Charles de Gaulle. However, these airports, which have up to six runways, continue to threaten Heathrow's status as Europe's main airport hub. Supporters of a third runway say expansion is needed to support Britain's global trade ambitions. The plan submitted to the Government on Thursday is not the only proposal for how to build a third runway. Hotel tycoon Surinder Arora, who is one of the biggest landowners at Heathrow, earlier this week unveiled an alternative proposal that he claimed would be cheaper and avoid the need to rebuild the M25. Heathrow argues that the motorway would need to be redeveloped regardless to handle the extra traffic expected from expansion of the airport. It currently has no rail connections to the west, with the Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express services terminating there, and will not be served by HS2.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store