On the day the First Sea Lord announces plans to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, the Government is reportedly preparing to slash up to a fifth of its warships.

Admiral Sir Alan West will launch Trafalgar 200 today at the Ministry of Defence, while in other parts of Whitehall civil servants are preparing to make hundreds of sailors redundant.

The ships most likely to be scrapped will be frigates and destroyers.