Farage blasts “embarrassing” Navy shortfall after UK forced to borrow German warship

In response to Healey’s remarks, Nigel Farage said the lack of warships "belittles our nation on the world stage" as he labeled the borrowing of a German vessel "embarrassing."

Revealing the plans, the Defence Secretary admitted the UK was forced to borrow a warship from Germany after HMS Dragon was dispatched to assist in the Middle East.

"The Germans have stepped in to supply their warship, while I can deploy Dragon to reinforce defenses in the Middle East," he told Nick Ferrari at Breakfast.

"But that group, that ship will still be commanded by a Royal Navy commodore. It will still have his battle team on board... It’ll be a German flagship vessel,” he added.

This follows Britain’s deployment of its Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon to the eastern Mediterranean earlier this month amid the ongoing Iranian conflict.

The Defence Secretary argued Britain is ‘turning up the pressure on Putin,’ after commandos were granted permission to board Russia’s shadow fleet tankers traveling through UK waters.

Revenue from the sale of oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) has long funded Putin’s war machine in Ukraine, with Sir Keir now formally approving plans allowing the UK to start seizing Putin’s vessels in UK waters.

The PM unveiled the plans during his trip to Helsinki, Finland, for a summit with national leaders from the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF), a

The JEF, a military coalition of 10 northern European countries led by the UK, aims to defend against Russian incursions.

It also includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.

“I’m not happy with the situation we have with British warships. And that’s because it takes six years to build a warship, I tell you," Mr. Healey told LBC.

"You know, over the past 14 years, previous governments cut the number of frigates and destroyers by a quarter. They cut the number of mine-hunting ships by half.

"They cut the defense budget by £12 billion in the first five years. We’re starting to fix these problems. We can’t do that overnight.

"But the fact that we’re spending £300 million more on British shipbuilding this year is a sign we’re beginning to turn things around."

Moscow’s shadow fleet reportedly consists of more than a thousand aging tankers.

They illicitly ship oil and other goods out of Russia by flying flags of other countries, aiming to evade sanctions imposed by the West since the invasion of Ukraine began.

JEF countries Finland, Sweden, and Estonia have recently intercepted suspected shadow tankers traveling through the Baltic.

Closing off British waters to the shadow fleet aims to force the Russian vessels into taking longer, more costly sea routes, or risk being intercepted by the UK.

Sir Keir said: "We are living in an increasingly volatile and dangerous world, facing threats from different fronts across the globe every day.

"As Prime Minister, my first duty is to keep this country safe and protect British interests here and abroad.

"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin is rubbing his hands over the war in the Middle East because he thinks higher oil prices will let him line his pockets.

"That’s why we’re going after his shadow fleet even harder, not just keeping Britain safe but starving Putin’s war machine of the dirty profits funding his barbaric campaign in Ukraine.

"He and his cronies should be in no doubt, we will always defend our sovereignty and stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes."

British forces have already been involved in tracking shadow fleet vessels for several years and have supported operations by other countries to seize the ships.

In January, the UK assisted in the seizure of the oil tanker Marinera by the US.

Previously known as the Bella-1, the Russian-flagged vessel was captured by American forces aided by RAF aircraft and the British supply ship RFA Tideforce in the Atlantic.

Later that same month, Royal Navy patrol boat HMS Dagger helped the French seize another sanctioned ship, the Grinch, in the western Mediterranean, shadowing the vessel through the Strait of Gibraltar.

Last week, the French intercepted the Deyna oil tanker in the Mediterranean, supported by the UK.

Libyan authorities have meanwhile towed a suspected shadow fleet oil tanker found drifting in the Mediterranean, believed to have been hit in a drone strike.

The tanker, carrying liquefied natural gas, was towed to prevent a spill in the Mediterranean.

At the JEF summit, the Prime Minister and other leaders are expected to discuss shared security in the so-called High North and the war in Ukraine.

A Conservative Party spokesperson said: "Any effort to keep sanctioned ships out of our waters is important.

"But Labour’s failure to back our armed forces with the resources they need shows he is in denial about the scale of the threats our country faces.

"Keir Starmer would rather fund a bailout for benefits street than fund our military. Only the Conservatives have a plan to get the welfare bill under control and increase defence spending, keeping the British people safe."