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The Royal Navy now has more admirals than warships, according to official documents.

After years of defence cuts, the current number of ships with offensive capability is down to 19 - but there are 34 senior fleet commanders, reports The Sun.

Shadow Defence Secretary Nia Griffiths said: “It is clear that this government is running down our Royal Navy.

“Defence Ministers have stood by as the number of Royal Navy vessels has fallen to historically low levels. Their failure to recruit and retain enough Royal Navy personnel means that it is becoming increasingly challenging to crew the ships that we have.”

It is composed of 75 ships, of which only 20 (including HMS Queen Elizabeth, which won't be operational until 2020) are classed as major surface combatants – which MPs say is the official definition of a warship.

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The Royal Navy said there were 34 serving Admirals, Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals and 75 ships.

These included patrol craft, used to train university students and patrol inland waters, and survey ships which are used for mapping.

The Royal Navy's warships

Six guided-missile destroyers

13 frigates

One aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth but which will not be operational until 2020.

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