Jeremy Hunt plans to sink Boris Johnson’s plans for a £250 million Royal Yacht Britannia as soon as next week, according to reports.
The former prime minister claimed a new boat would help Britain “show off” around the world, saying it would attract investment that will drive jobs and growth.
But after several low-growth years under BoJo and a recession looming, chancellor Hunt has decided against splurging taxpayer’s hard-earned cash on the vanity project.
So far, the MoD has spent nearly £2.5 million on staffing costs and consultancy fees related to the project, according to the Daily Mirror.
But there have been winds of change in Westminister following a turbulent few weeks.
Recently, Defence Minister Ben Wallace said “the MoD has not assumed any liability for costs incurred by bidders in the design competition. And no design or manufacturing contracts have been placed.”
His response came after a question by Shadow defence minister Kevan Jones, a Labour MP, over whether the new government had any plans to go ahead with the expensive ship, first proposed by Boris Johnson.
“This complete waste of taxpayer money has obviously been sunk.”
“The Navy never wanted it in the first place and It was just one big Boris Johnson vanity project,” Jones told the Daily Mirror.
“The only way the project may still stay afloat is if Mr Johnson makes an extraordinary comeback as Prime Minister,” he said.
The MoD has declined to comment but said that “an announcement will be made in due course.”