The scrapped warship that makes a mockery of the British navy

Rowlands says it may now be time to "ruthlessly prioritise and maintain strategic discipline”, accepting that the Navy’s main job is protecting Nato’s maritime backyard. "If the most pressing threat is Russia and the High North, then that’s what we need to do,” he adds. "We don’t have the luxury to deal with other issues, as we don’t have the mass and depth of force.”