A decision to rename a new Royal Navy submarine to avoid potential French offense has ignited a heated political debate, with former Defence Secretary Grant Shapps condemning it as “woke nonsense.”

The £1.2 billion vessel, currently under construction in Barrow, Cumbria, will now be called HMS Achilles instead of HMS Agincourt – a name that recalled England’s historic victory over France in 1415. The Royal Navy maintains the change had been under consideration for over a year and received King Charles’s approval.

In defending the switch, the Navy highlighted that HMS Achilles has its own distinguished military history, including battle honours from World War Two. Ironically, a previous HMS Achilles also participated in the Battle of Trafalgar, where Britain defeated combined French and Spanish forces.

The controversy intensified after reports emerged suggesting the change was motivated by concerns within the Ministry of Defence about French sensitivities. Shapps took to social media, declaring the renaming “nothing short of sacrilege” and criticizing it as prioritizing “woke nonsense” over military heritage.

The submarine will be the seventh in the Astute Class fleet, joining a line of vessels all bearing ‘A’ names including HMS Astute, Ambush, Artful, Audacious, and Anson. Its sister submarine under construction will be named HMS Agamemnon.

While name changes for Royal Navy vessels are uncommon, they’re not unprecedented. In 1939, HMS Pansy was renamed HMS Heartsease before launch – though that decision was presumably less geopolitically motivated.

French authorities have maintained a diplomatic silence on the matter, which has become the latest flashpoint in Britain’s ongoing culture debates.