UK royal yacht could cost taxpayer £50m more than initially said

Photograph: Robert Perry/EPA

Britain’s new royal yacht could cost the taxpayer an initial £50m more than previously indicated at a total cost of £250m, the defence secretary said at an industry event to launch the project.

The replacement for the long-scrapped Britannia, a brainchild of the prime minister, Boris Johnson, would be commissioned at “between £200m and £250m at a firm price”, Ben Wallace told a specially convened conference at Greenwich.

That represents an increase from the £200m upfront cost previously indicated when Downing Street first announced it would go ahead with the project to create a national flagship in late May.

Full story at Yahoo News.

By Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor.