Royal Navy faces aircraft carriers delay

The Royal Navy will have to wait up to two years longer for its £4bn aircraft carriers under cost-cutting plans being finalised by John Hutton, defence secretary.

The decision to push back one of the government’s sacrosanct defence equipment programmes represents a sharp reversal. Ministers have always insisted the two ships would be in service by 2014 and 2016.

According to industry insiders, the Ministry of Defence is considering two options: delaying the in-service date of the first carrier by 12 months or delaying the second ship by up to two years.

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