Speaking on board HMS Queen Elizabeth as it prepared to sail in to Portsmouth, Captain Jerry Kyd said he is feeling a "huge amount of pride" ahead of the vessel berthing in her home port.

"It sends the right signals to our allies and indeed potentially to our enemies that we mean business. The armed forces are fundamentally an insurance policy for the country and you can't just, at the flick of a switch, decide that you need these capabilities.

"You have to buy them, work them up, train them, integrate them with the rest of defence so they're ready to be called upon when required.

"You can't just buy it off the shelf. Yes, it costs money, but it is all about having the right investment and having the right equipment for the hundreds, if not thousands of young men and women that go to war on behalf of the nation."