AN EX-Nato commander has blasted woke Navy chiefs for renaming a submarine to avoid upsetting the French.
HMS Agincourt is the fleet’s sixth vessel and was named after the 1415 victory by outnumbered English archers.
A move to rebrand the under-construction hunter-killer was thrown out last year as “woke nonsense” by Tory Defence Secretary Grant Shapps.
But Top Brass reheated their plan and have settled on Achilles because they do not want to remind the French of their defeat.
Defence Secretary John Healey has asked the King for approval.
But Rear Admiral Chris Parry, former Nato commander, has said the decision is “craven political correctness and ideology gone mad”.
He told Times Radio: “This is just craven and contemptible surrender to, I’m afraid, the ideology being pushed by our government. It seeks to erase our history and anything we need to be proud of.
“I don’t see the French renaming the Gare d’Austerlitz to avoid upsetting the Germans.
“And I’m now concerned that we might lose Waterloo and Trafalgar Square.”
The Rear Admiral suggested giving “two fingers” to the decision.
“This is just craven political correctness and ideology gone mad. And I’ve got no doubt that the admirals will be seething about this.
“You don’t rename ships once they start getting built. And I’m afraid to say it’s probably payback for the AUKUS deal, where, if you remember, the French were excluded from the submarine deal between Australia, America, and the United Kingdom.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”UK left ‘spectacularly exposed’ to Russian threats after all six British ‘hunter-killer’ subs stuck in port for repairs” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6359907695112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]“And yeah, I mean, it’s unbelievable, to tell you the truth. And the excuse they’re using to change it, it’s the anniversary of VJ and VE day, is probably the weakest communications excuse I’ve seen in a long time.”
Shapps has also slammed the U-turn, telling The Sun: “Renaming the Agincourt is nothing short of sacrilege.
“This submarine carries a name that honours a defining moment in British history.”
Agincourt inspired Shakespeare’s Henry V — famously played by Kenneth Branagh in a 1989 film — and many of the Bard’s most famous lines, including, “Once more unto the breach, dear friends,” and “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers”.
Only last year the Navy insisted it had “no intention to rename” Agincourt.
A Royal Navy spokesperson said it was, “entirely appropriate to name a naval vessel after a great military victory”.
They added: “We take great care in naming our ships and ensuring they have appropriate affiliations across the country and have no intention to rename it.”
But this year the senior service started dropping hints that a major u-turn was imminent.
In January a Royal Navy spokesperson blamed “the previous government” for starting the name changing process.
Then, just ten days before ditching Agincourt, a spokesperson stressed that the Senior Service was “proud of our nation’s rich military history and the many famous battles that the Royal Navy has played a part in”.
But the Navy did not fight at Agincourt.
Nonetheless, they insisted: “Any changes would be announced publicly in the usual way.”
When the announcement finally came, there was nothing normal about it.
The news was slipped out on Twitter at 9pm on Sunday night.
An official statement said: “The 7th Astute-class submarine is to be named HMS Achilles, as approved by The King.
“The name is appropriate in light of the 80th anniversaries this year of VE and VJ Day.
“Six ships have previously borne the name, earning six battle honours, including the River Plate and Okinawa.”