Royal Navy chiefs have been slammed for “woke nonsense” after dropping plans to name a new attack submarine after the 1415 Battle of Agincourt, in which England defeated France, to appease the French. The Telegraph has more.
The seventh and final Astute-class submarine was to be called HMS Agincourt, but it will now be named HMS Achilles instead.
Grant Shapps, the former Defence Ssecretary, said the name change was “nothing short of sacrilege” amid speculation it may have been undertaken because of a fear of offending the French Government.
Sir Gavin Williamson, the then Defence Secretary, announced in 2018 that the Ministry of Defence had signed a £1.5 billion contract to build a seventh Astute-class hunter-killer submarine called HMS Agincourt.
That would have made it the sixth Royal Navy vessel to have been named after the battle in October 1415, when the English, led by Henry V, defeated a larger French force.
It is recognised as one of England’s greatest military victories and provided the backdrop to William Shakespeare’s Henry V in which the monarch famously declares “once more unto the breach”.
Mr Shapps and Sir Gavin both criticised the name change.
Sir Gavin said: “It is so pathetic that the Government is so ashamed of our history that they are literally renaming it. Next, they will probably want to rename HMS Queen Elizabeth for fear the Spaniards might be upset about the Armada.”
Mr Shapps tweeted: “Renaming the HMS Agincourt is nothing short of sacrilege. This submarine carries a name that honours a defining moment in British history.
“Under Labour, woke nonsense is being put ahead of tradition and our Armed Forces’ proud heritage.”
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