Fears for national security over gap left by Nimrods

MPs have voiced “serious concern” about the risk to national security caused by the government’s decision to scrap the next generation of Nimrod maritime surveillance aircraft.

The Nimrod MRA4 was cancelled in the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, as ministers attempted to fill a £38 billion black hole in the Ministry of Defence budget.

The project, designed to replace the Nimrod MR2, was already years late and hundreds of millions of pounds over budget.

A report published by the House of Commons Defence Committee said the decision had created a “capability gap” in maritime surveillance, leaving the UK dependent on other nations for support.

Committee chair James Arbuthnot said: “We are unconvinced that the MoD has the capacity to respond to any escalation in the risks that may appear beyond the UK’s shores.”