The deployment of HMS Dragon to Cyprus has been delayed amid claims from union officials that the naval base responsible for its repairs only operates on a 'nine-to-five, Monday-to-Friday' schedule. The destroyer's mission to safeguard a British base in Cyprus, following last weekend's Iranian drone strikes, has been stalled as crews scramble to finalise essential welding and maintenance.
According to the Prospect union, these delays are a direct result of 'cost-cutting' measures introduced by the Ministry of Defence and private contractor Serco. The union alleges that the Portsmouth naval base has abandoned its around-the-clock staffing model in favour of a standard 9-to-5, weekday-only operation.
General secretary of Prospect, Mike Clancy, said: 'Our members are stepping up to help, but such a vital service shouldn't be dependent on goodwill from staff. Out-of-hours support should be locked into the contract. This contract has failed its first real encounter with a serious crisis, and must be urgently reviewed and rectified.'
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised over deciding to deploy HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer, to protect the RAF Akrotiri base in the Eastern Mediterranean on Tuesday, more than 72 hours after the conflict in the Middle East began. It comes after RAF Akrotiri was hit by an Iranian drone fired from Lebanon on Sunday, raising major concerns about the standard of local air defences.
HMS Dragon will not be ready to set sail from Portsmouth until next week, having been disarmed for planned maintenance, and could take a further week to get there. As a result, it will arrive in Cyprus after warships from France and Spain. Serco countered Prospect’s claims, asserting that the contract defines the core working day as 7am to 7pm and includes overtime provisions. A spokesman for Serco said: 'HMS Dragon is being prepared to sail, with the full support of our dedicated teams in Portsmouth. Serco has fulfilled every task requested by the Royal Navy on time and to the agreed standard. Any suggestion that the working patterns of Serco employees have impacted HMS Dragon's ability to sail is completely untrue.'
