PLYMOUTH should have “a great future” and the city will not be just a graveyard for nuclear submarines, says the Prime Minister.

“The Royal Navy is going to pack a huge punch in the future and a lot of that punch will be coming straight out of Plymouth,” David Cameron said on a visit to the city yesterday. “The Dockyard has a very secure future.”

He predicted economic recovery this year and vowed to defend the Falkland Islands against any Argentine aggression. The Prime Minister spoke during visits to Royal Marines headquarters at Stonehouse Barracks, Devonport Dockyard and in an interview with The Herald.

He praised the Armed Forces for their conflict role in a “difficult and dangerous world”.

“I don’t think you always know how proud the country is of you,” he told members of 30 Commando as he presented warrants to Royal Marines Mark Nicholas from Saltash, Martin Bowles from Plymouth and Andrew Ives.

All three men served on Operation Herrick 14. They were promoted from colour sergeant to Warrant Officer 2 after an eight-week advanced command course.

About 150 Dockyard and Naval Base workers attended a ‘PM direct’ session where they put questions to Mr Cameron. He told them: “I am a strong believer in the nuclear deterrent. The work you do here is vital.”

On the economy he said: “This is going to be a tough and difficult year because of the eurozone problems and our own economic recovery. But I think we’ll start to see the economy pick up and recover this year as a result of measures we are taking.”

“It’s not a good thing to pass debts on to your children. When you’ve maxed out one credit card you don’t get another one and max that out too.”

He defended public sector pension reform which he said had saved education cuts. And he said women had been helped by giving more money to childcare and raising the tax threshold for the low-paid.

“Normally governments just slash capital spending. That is a big mistake.”

Asked whether Britain could still defend the Falkland Islands if Argentina invaded again, Mr Cameron said: “We are capable of protecting the islands and the way to do that is to maintain the forces there.

“We have to make sure that what happened in 1981 doesn’t happen again.”

In 1981 the Argentinians overran the lightly defended islands, leading to a lengthy and bloody war.

“I want to send a clear message and have no misunderstanding that we are committed to defending the Falkland Islands as long as the people there want to remain British,” Mr Cameron said. “I want Argentina and others to understand that.”

Amid moves towards a Scottish independence referendum, the Prime Minister said: “Obviously I want Scotland to vote to stay in the United Kingdom. But if Scotland wasn’t in the United Kingdom, then defence facilities would have to be based within the United Kingdom, if I can put it that way.”

Defending cuts made since the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), Mr Cameron said that when the coalition Government came to power the defence budget was “oversubscribed by £35billion”.

“We spend £35billion a year on defence now, and will still be spending £35billion a year in 2015,” he said. “We will still have the fourth largest defence budget in the world.

“At the end of the defence review we are going to have a very capable Royal Navy and with Royal Marines at the heart of it. The Government is fully committed to Plymouth.”

He said he could not spell out where the Navy’s ships would be based, but added: Plymouth has got a very strong future. I want Plymouth and Babcock to have a great future.

“We have got the new aircraft carrier coming, we have got the Type 45 destroyers, we have got the new global combat ship coming on stream, we have got the hunter killer submarines and we have got a replacement for Trident as well.

“There is a big future programme and the Royal Navy is going to pack a huge punch in the future and a lot of that punch will be coming straight out of Plymouth.

“You should never in defence terms put all your eggs in one basket and Plymouth I think has got a very strong and secure future.”

He reassured the Marines that they would not be subsumed into the Army. “The amphibious capability is centred on the Royal Marines, and we are very much committed to that.”

Proposed nuclear submarine decommissioning in Plymouth made “very good sense” given the long association the city had with nuclear submarines, he said.

But it was wrong to think of the city becoming a nuclear scrapyard.

“Some people when they think of disposal of ships think of breaking things up, but this is a highly complex piece of engineering work.”

He said he believed Plymouth people would support moves to cap welfare benefits at £26,000 a year.

“I think there is a very simple principle here that if you go out to work and do the right thing you shouldn’t find that people who live on benefits but could work are better off than the average family.

“We will make sure that the people in real need are looked after.”

Mr Cameron said the difficulty of arranging adoptions and the 65,000 children in care across the country had been “a national disgrace”.

He warned local authorities that if they did not measure up they would have the right to run adoptions taken away from them.

Asked why the Government was still giving aid to India, which has a space programme, Mr Cameron highlighted the problems from dysfunctional States like Somalia.

“How much more dangerous will our world be if these countries go on being broken, poor, exporting illegal migration and exporting terrorism?

“Aid gives Britain an enormous influence to get things done in the world.”

On his way to the city the Prime Minister stopped at Endsleigh Garden Centre in Ivybridge and before leaving he stopped at Morrisons in Plymstock, where he did some shopping.

The Prime Minister made the impromptu visit to a branch of Morrisons on his way home to Oxfordshire after spending the day meeting Royal Marines.

He spent about 15 minutes in the Plymstock store causing other customers to do a double take as they saw who else was browsing the aisles.

Mr Cameron selected items for his dinner Friday night including sea bass from the fish counter, new potatoes, lemons and other fruit.

One shopper who was in the shop during the unannounced visit on Friday afternoon said: “He went in the queue and paid for it himself. There was quite a conservative reaction, with a small c. People noticed him, but no-one mobbed him.

“He had the most people chatting to him as he was in the queue – it took him about five minutes to get served.”

Shoppers seemed so nonplussed by the visit that the man in front of the Prime Minister was playing with his phone as he waited to pay for his goods, seemingly oblivious to the VIP in the queue.

Mike Cliff, general manager of the Plymstock store, said: “We were surprised and delighted to see the Prime Minister popping into Morrisons to pick up his weekend groceries.”

Richard Woods from Plymouth was one of the first to meer Mr Cameron on his arrival in the city.

He said: "Met the Prime Minister today, couldn't believe it. He shook my hand and asked me what I did, and asked about my family.

"He was interested in my animals. It was very nice to meet him. Looks younger face to face, so glad I met him."

Mr Cameron arrived in the city just before 12pm, where some of the first questions he faced were about resigning energy secretary Chris Huhne.

Mr Cameron said Chris Huhne made "the right decision" in resigning as a cabinet minister after being charged with perverting the course of justice.

Speaking during his visit to Plymouth, the Prime Minister said: "I think Chris Huhne has made the right decision, given the circumstances.

"Obviously I want to thank him for the very good work he has done in Government, both in helping to bring the coalition Government together and as secretary of state for energy and climate change where he has helped to secure important investment into our infrastructure and he has done some very good work on the international agreements needed to deal with climate change.

"Now obviously the Government must continue and so I have asked Ed Davey to step up to the Cabinet as Energy and Climate Change Secretary and I am sure he will do a very good job."

The Prime Minister spoke during a visit to Stonehouse Barracks.

During his visit to Plymouth, the White House announced that Mr Cameron will be making a state visit to the USA next month.

UNION LEADERS' ANGER AS SUB WORK STOPS FOR VISIT

UNION leaders were angered after the Prime Minister’s visit halted refit work on the Trident submarine HMS Vigilant.

David Cameron and his party were allowed to tour the submarine in 9 Dock without safety equipment including hard hats, after work was stopped in some areas.

The boat is nearing the end of a three-year, £300million refit and workers have been offered a £400 bonus to complete on time in March.

“It’s a disgrace,” Peter Smith, chairman of the Devonport Dockyard Works Committee said.

But Babcock said it was normal and that workers’ bonuses would not be affected.

Mr Smith said: “I understand that they changed the risk assessment so there was no overhead lifting going on.

“Staff have been promised a £400 bonus if the work finishes by March 5. I hope this won’t put bonuses at risk.

“To my knowledge this has not happened before.

“The company has been driving safety with the unions and this sends out the wrong message to the workforce.”

John Hall, managing director technical at Babcock, said: “From time to time we have VIP visitors and at those times we look at the risk assessment.

“This would not have affected our programme. The critical work was continuing inside the submarine.”

Interviewed by The Herald before the submarine tour, Mr Cameron would only say that he would be doing a question and answer session at the Dockyard “and I don’t think anyone will be wearing hard hats there”.