HMS PLYMOUTH, the last surviving warship to be built at Devonport, "will probably end up as razor blades".

That was the view of former MP for Plymouth Lord David Owen as he launched an outspoken attack on the Ministry of Defence, having failed to convince Devonport Naval Base to give the frigate a berth.

Lord Owen said he feared the ship, which was bombed in action during the Falklands War, would end up being sold for scrap.

"I have lost hope," Lord Owen said. "We seem to be incapable of building on our heritage."

He said it was "just pathetic" the MoD was dragging its heels over selling off the redundant South Yard at Devonport, where he would like to see a Falklands exhibition, with HMS Plymouth as its centrepiece.

He said the Commander of Devonport Naval Base, Commodore Ian Jess, told him last week there was no room to berth the frigate.

No 2 Dock, the listed dry dock which the project might have hoped to use, has had its gates removed in the past three months and was now tidal, making it impracticable.

Lord Owen said he did not blame Cdre Jess, who "has just been landed in the problem".

"The problem is the harbourmaster and the naval authorities," Lord Owen added. "Every obstacle has been put up. It's quite extraordinary – it's as if there is an element in the Royal Navy that wants to spite those fighting for HMS Plymouth.

"Who decided to remove the gates at No 2 Dock? Why remove them when you are about to sell the land? It would have been much more valuable with a functioning dock.

"South Yard is just sitting there rotting. It's pathetic. The one thing the MoD owes Plymouth is to get off the land and let the city use it.

"Go to Portsmouth and see what a fantastic tourist attraction it has become. Plymouth has nothing."

Mike Critchley, the chairman of Warship Management Ltd (WML), which has led the campaign to bring HMS Plymouth back to Plymouth as a tourist attraction, announced yesterday that he had given up.

"Three years of intensive efforts to return HMS Plymouth to her home port to go back on public display appear to have failed," the former Lieutenant Commander said. "I see the possibility of a breakers yard looming."

Plymouth city councillor Dr David Salter, who has supported the project in a personal capacity, said: "This outcome is a local and national disgrace.

"I cannot believe the apathy in Plymouth. It is outrageous that in her namesake city, with a huge waterfront and international maritime reputation, no place at all can be found for this historic warship with a proven ability to attract tourists and educate youngsters.

"The council says a project like this must stand on its own feet. There wouldn't be a council subsidy, and I won't be calling for one."

HMS Plymouth was bought by the charity the Warship Preservation Trust from the Ministry of Defence, and opened to the public at Plymouth, Glasgow and, since 1991, Birkenhead on Merseyside. Mr Critchley said she had 88,000 visitors in the first year in Plymouth.

He said her owners had been made offers to sell her for scrap.

Mr Critchley said money raised by former crew members in the HMS Plymouth Association and other donors was enough to buy the vessel and tow her from Merseyside to Plymouth, but possible berths had been blocked by development and berthing costs.

A chapel was built into HMS Plymouth as a memorial to all the British seafarers lost in the South Atlantic in 1982.

"Many a parent and family member has returned to the ship over the years to see their son's name on the chapel oak panels," Mr Critchley said.

Historic ships campaigner Sid Anning said the National Heritage Bill, now going through Parliament, contained a "glaring omission" because it will only protect ships on slipways or in dry docks.

HMS Plymouth Association, which raised £30,000 to try to save the warship, said it regretted WML's decision.

"Many view the failure to find a suitable berth as symptomatic of a society willing to expose its members to all manner of dangers, but once the immediate need is satisfied, equally willing to ignore their subsequent needs," the association said.

A naval base spokeswoman said: "As she is a privately owned vessel the MoD has no practical role to play in her placement or usage."

She said no final decisions had been taken on the future of South Yard, which was part of a larger rationalisation of the Naval Base.

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