The date has been set for the arrival of the Royal Navy’s newest warship into Portsmouth. The Type 45 destroyer HMSDaringis due to take her place at the naval base on Wednesday, January 28, the first of six to be commissioned.

At 7,350 tonnes Daring is twice as big as the Type 23 frigates and Type 42 destroyers she is designed to replace.

Under Labour’s 1998 defence review 12 new destroyers were planned, but budgetary pressures led the Ministry of Defence to announce in July that there would only be six Daring Class ships built.

That announcement came just after the £3.9bn contract was signed to build the new 65,000-tonne aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, which will also be based in Portsmouth.