Boaty McBoatface tops vote for polar ship name

'Boaty McBoatface' has topped a poll searching for the name of a new polar research ship as the competition launched by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) closed.

Jo Johnson will make the final decision on the name. Picture: PA

The suggestion received 124,109 votes – more than three times that of its closest contender. However, the £200 million research vessel is not guaranteed to be christened with the winning suggestion – the final decision lies with science minister Jo Johnson.

The name was put forward by former BBC radio presenter James Hand, who has since apologised and said the storm it created had “legs of its own”.

The second most-voted name was the RRS Poppy-Mai – named after a 16-month-old girl whose father “married” her in an attempt to give her the wedding of her dreams after it was revealed she had incurable cancer.

The RRS Henry Worsley – the British Army officer and explorer who died trying to make the first unassisted solo crossing of the Antarctic in January – was third with more than 15,000 votes.