US jibes at Royal Navy are uncomfortable because they have substance | Jamie Grierson

While Pete Hegseth has mocked the ‘big, bad Royal Navy’, the First Sea Lord has sounded the alarm about its readiness

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The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, had his tongue firmly in his cheek when he singled out the “big bad Royal Navy” in a recent press update on the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Hegseth’s sarcastic comment was only the latest in a long line of jibes against the capabilities and readiness of the British Royal Navy.