Conservatives Mistake Fictional James Bond Boat for Real Royal Navy Warship


Conservatives Mistake Fictional James Bond Boat for Real Royal Navy Warship

Tory Defence Chief Confuses Fictional and Real Vessels

Conservative Party's defence chief, James Cartlidge, mistakenly inquired about the cost of repairing a fictional ship from a James Bond movie, HMS Devonshire, instead of the real Royal Navy vessel HMS Northumberland.

James Bond Boat Mix-Up

In a query to officials, Cartlidge referenced the non-existent HMS Devonshire, a fictional ship sunk by a villain in the 1997 film Tomorrow Never Dies, starring Pierce Brosnan as 007. The last Royal Navy vessel named HMS Devonshire was decommissioned in the 1980s.

Response to the Blunder

Defence Procurement Minister Maria Eagle clarified that there is no ship named HMS Devonshire currently in service with the Royal Navy. Cartlidge later realized his mistake and intended to inquire about HMS Northumberland, a frigate the government recently decommissioned.

Testing the Waters

Cartlidge joked that he purposely made the error to test if the Ministry of Defence was using AI to respond to inquiries. After receiving confirmation that submissions to the Strategic Defence Review will be reviewed by AI, Cartlidge confirmed that human oversight is still in place.


Conservatives Mistake Fictional James Bond Boat for Real Royal Navy Warship