SIR – The Shadow Chancellor criticised the Royal Navy and Royal Marines last week, peddling the urban myth that there are more admirals than ships.
Ed Balls obviously did not look at the Royal Navy website, where the senior naval staff page lists all the serving flag and general officers, many of whom are in non-naval posts in the MoD and Nato.
He would find, too, that the fleet has rather more ships than admirals, however one counts them.
I wonder what else Mr Balls tells us that is just plain wrong.
Politicians should be concerned about the number of ships in today’s fleet, less so about the number of admirals.
With more than 90 per cent of UK trade in merchant ships, the protection of sea trade remains an important role of the Royal Navy.
It’s not just about ships. Mr Balls would do well to remember that the Navy has submarines, naval aircraft and air stations, training establishments, operations centres, reserve forces and the Royal Marines.
LESTER MAY
Lieutenant-Commander Royal Navy – retired, London
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