Changing the name of the navy's submarine is pointless, says Shapps

Changing the name of the navy's submarine is  pointless, says Shapps.
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Ministry of Defence A 2009  photograph shows HMS Astute  on a body of water - troops stand on the  ship and a flag flies in the  wind. Ministry of Defence
The Royal Navy has announced it  will change the name of a new submarine from HMS Agincourt to HMS Achilles, in a move  described as "clever lip service" by former  defence secretary Grant  Shapps.
This follows reports of concern within the Ministry of Defence that the original name  of the  ship - which  was built in Barrow, Cumbria - may have offended the  French.
Agincourt refers to a battle  won by England against France in 1415, as part of the Hundred Years'  War.
On Sunday, the Royal Navy said the submarine would be  called HMS Achilles and that the change had been under discussion for more than a  year.
A spokesman said Achilles was particularly  fitting as the world  prepared to mark the 80th anniversaries of Victory in Europe and Victory over  Japan, both of which  fall this  year. A previous  ship, HMS  Achilles, had received battle honours during  the Second World  War. Another ship with the  same name took part in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, when the Royal Navy defeated a  combined French and Spanish  fleet. Gavin Williamson, a  former Conservative defence secretary, first announced the name Agincourt in 2018 for the  ship under construction, the seventh of the  Astute-class submarines to be commissioned.  It had previously been  suggested that it could be  called Ajax. A statement from the Navy said the name change had been under discussion for more than a year and  was "proposed by the Royal  Navy's Ship Names and  Markings Committee and approved by  Her Majesty the  King". But the  change has  sparked controversy, not least because the announcement came shortly before the Sun newspaper  published an article about the internal  debate over  the planned  name.
In a post on X, Shapps said  that "renaming HMS Agincourt is nothing short of  sacrilegious." He said the original name signified a defining moment in British  history.
"Under Labour,  clever cunning is being put ahead of  the proud tradition and  heritage of our  armed forces," the former  Tory MP  said.
French authorities have made no public  comment. Changing the  names of Royal Navy  ships is relatively  rare, but not  unprecedented.
In 1939, a Royal Navy corvette  that was to be named HMS Pansy became HMS Heartsease  shortly before  its launch.
All of the Navy's  Astute-class submarines  have names beginning with the letter A: HMS Astute, Ambush, Artful, Audacious and Anson are all in active  service.
Alongside HMS Achilles, HMS Agamemnon is also under construction.Not a valid attachment ID.

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