Protest: Adult social care cuts
Protests have been staged over cuts in adult social care, ahead of a debate on the issue by West Sussex Country Council.
Former flagship 'sold for scrap'
It's been reported that the former Royal Navy flagship, HMS Ark Royal, is to be sold as scrap metal for £3 million.
Battalion to be cut and move to Edinburgh
The Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders are to be cut from a battalion to a public duties company, and move from Canterbury to Edinburgh.
Live updates
Protest: Adult social care cuts
by Christine Alsford
Protests have been staged over cuts in adult social care, ahead of a debate on the issue by West Sussex Country Council.
Read the full storyHMS Ark Royal will be sold as scrap metal
She was once the flagship of the Royal Navy - a symbol of the might of our armed forces. But today, it has been confirmed that HMS Ark Royal *will *be sold as scrap metal.
The Government described its decision as 'difficult but necessary'. Turning the aircraft carrier into tin cans and razor blades could make around £3 million - as Martin Dowse explains.
Advertisement
Ark Royal will be recycled - MOD statement
Plans to preserve the legacy of the Royal Navy’s Invincible Class aircraft carriers have been outlined by the Ministry of Defence.
Invincible, Illustrious and Ark Royal came into service in the early 1980s and have spent the last thirty years protecting the UK’s interests across the world.
The last of the ships to be decommissioned, HMS Illustrious, is due to retire in 2014 and the MoD is seeking proposals from organisations interested in preserving her as a lasting tribute.
The 31 year old HMS Ark Royal was withdrawn from service last year, following the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review.
The MoD can announce today that she will also be recycled as part of a £2.9 million deal with Leyal, the same company responsible for recycling Invincible in 2011.
Work will be carried out over the winter to enable her to travel from Portsmouth to Turkey, where she will be recycled.
Philip Dunne, of the MOD, said: “HMS Ark Royal, like her sister ships, served this country with great distinction. Retiring her five years earlier than planned was a difficult decision but it was the right one that, combined with her sale, has saved over £100 million."
Ark Royal decision 'difficult but necessary'
Former Navy flagship HMS Ark Royal will be sold on as scrap metal for £3 million as part of a move that the Ministry of Defence has described as "difficult but necessary".
An announcement in Parliament today is expected to reveal the details of the deal after the vessel was decommissioned in 2010 five years ahead of its expected sell-by date.
The decision comes following a bidding process which included proposals to turn the 22,000-ton ship into a helipad on the Thames, a museum, a hotel, a casino or a diving wreck off the South coast.
Last year HMS Invincible was also sold to a Turkish scrap metal firm as part of the MoD's drive to get its finances in order.
Former flagship 'sold for scrap'
It's been reported that the former Royal Navy flagship, HMS Ark Royal, is to be sold as scrap metal for £3 million.
Read the full storyFormer Royal Navy flagship "to be sold as scrap metal"
It's been reported that an announcement is expected in Parliament tomorrow revealing that the former Navy flagship, HMS Ark Royal will be sold as scrap metal for £3million.
The ship was decommissioned in 2010, five years ahead of schedule and has been in Portsmouth harbour ever since.
The light aircraft carrier led the British fleet during the Iraq invasion after leading the fleet in the Adriatic during the Bosnian War.
Advertisement
Battalion to be cut and move to Edinburgh
The Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders are to be cut from a battalion to a public duties company, and move from Canterbury to Edinburgh.
Read the full storyDefence cuts hit the region
Army regiments across the meridian region will feel the effects of the defence cuts announcement
Read the full storyDefence cuts: who is affected
The Government has revealed the five infantry battalions it will axe under military cuts.
In the Meridian region, these include The 2nd Battalion, The Royal Welsh who are based in Tidworth in Wiltshire.
The 5th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, who are based in Canterbury, will be cut into one company carrying out ceremonial duties.
The 23 Pioneer regiment based in Bicester near Oxford will also face cuts.
Defence cuts: more news
The 2nd Battalion, The Royal Welsh - who are based in Tidworth in Wiltshire - and 23 Pioneer Regiment - who are based in Bicester in Oxfordshire are to be scrapped in the biggest overhaul of the Army in more than a century.
Nationally, troop levels are to be slashed by a fifth to eighty two thousand.
Today's top stories
