THE Government was today urged to come clean over the future of Devonport’s frigate fleet after a senior defence source said the warships would move to Portsmouth.

Politicians and business leaders insisted Whitehall should make an immediate announcement after the latest leak appeared to confirm speculation that Plymouth would lose its 11 Type 22 and 23 vessels and thousands of service personnel.

South West Devon MP Gary Streeter told the Government to ‘be brave and give us the bad news’.

Charles Howeson, chairman of the Plymouth Area Business Council, said losing the ships would change the naval base, with it losing virtually all its fleet, and pressed the Government to ‘come clean early’.

City council leader Vivien Pengelly said the leak was ‘either a piece of kite flying by the Navy’s ‘other city’ or shows the Ministry of Defence’s complete disdain for its long and deep relationship with Plymouth’.

The Tory councillor said: “The time has come for the Ministry of Defence to do what they have promised – give us the complete story on Devonport’s future role.”

The leaked information was seen by defence industry sources as part of a ‘softening up process’ before the official release of devastating news.

The Ministry of Defence, however, denied any decision on the ships had been made and said there was no  date for the Maritime Change Programme announcement.

And Sutton’s Labour MP Linda Gilroy said she had spoken to Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth and said the leaked information was ‘wrong’. But she said this was because ‘no decisions have been made’.

When Mr Ainsworth visited Plymouth in February he apologised for the city being kept in suspense, but stressed Devonport would act as a base-port for frigates for the next five years, although the decision could be reviewed within that time.

Mrs Gilroy reiterated ‘there will be no change for five years’ and added: “There are thousands of people in this city that would give their eye teeth for five years’ certainty.”

But she said the naval base could expect change, there could be ‘comings and goings’, but that this, and what the city might ‘gain’, would be made clear in ‘the coming weeks’.

“There are opportunities as well as threats,” she said.

But Mr Streeter told The Herald: “I’m 99 per cent certain this decision has been taken.  I think a formal announcement will come in the next few weeks. We are expecting the frigates to go. We need to plan for what comes next.”

The Tory MP said losing the frigates could mean between 1,000 and 4,000 people, including highly-skilled, well-paid, service personnel, leaving the area.

“It’s going to be a kick in the guts,” he said. “We are talking about the impact on the local economy and what happens to that (naval base) real estate. Is the Government going to put money up to make it viable for commercial use?”

But he said that while confirmation would mean ‘a very black day’ for the city, he also stressed: “It’s not the end of Plymouth. It has a future after the frigates. But we can’t start planning that until they tell us.”

Plymouth has been on tenter hooks for more than a year since ‘senior defence sources’ told a national newspaper that Devonport would lose its surface fleet to Portsmouth leading to closure of the naval base by 2013.

The Government, which decided Britain’s three naval bases would remain after a 2007 a review, stressed Devonport was key to submarine operations, particularly nuclear, although it would lose retiring Trafalgar class vessels and replacement Astutes would go to Faslane.

But speculation continued to grow that the frigates would be transferred, especially after routine frigate maintenance was shifted to Portsmouth last June.

MoD sources now say it ‘makes sense’ to have all the frigates and destroyers in Portsmouth. The source reportedly told the BBC: “Portsmouth is the home of the Royal Navy and it will be the home of the operational fleet.”

Mrs Pengelly, who accused Mr Ainsworth of backtracking, said Plymouth needed to know what ships would be here and for how long.

She wanted answers on what surface ship refit work would be committed to Devonport, what the Government’s intention was on dismantling nuclear submarines and how the city would be compensated for any loss of service personnel and jobs related to the frigates.

“The Government needs to come clean and start a sensible dialogue with us on what it will do to help us  deliver regeneration and growth,” she said.

Mr Howeson said he believed the frigates would be moved, and said: “This is bound to affect the city’s economy, not just in terms of support for that considerable number of ships but also because of the large number of families  who support our secondary economy. It could lead to a significant population shrinkage.”

Tim Jones, chairman of the Devon and Cornwall Business Council, said losing the warships would be ‘devastating’ and demanded a ‘taskforce’ be set up to deal with the fallout.