The usual sh1te from the grauniad. Quinlan was PPS to CAS in the early 60s, so it's clear where his views on carriers lie. Funnily enough he spent an awful long time away from the MOD (in Treasury & DoE) before coming back as PUS until 92. Lots of currency there then.
The whole thing is riddled with schoolboy errors. The complementing is wrong (though CVF is probably too light) and the combat system costing assertions are wrong. The US LHDs are far from flexible and are only feasible because of their cramped messing and large size in the first place. You'd struggle to generate the CVF sortie requirement from that deck in any case. Worst of all is the idea that we can change course from a large deck, capable ship to some sort of cut-down alternative and save money. There are NO designs sitting in cupboards or on computers, its CVF or no f/w flying at sea by 2015 - endex. However, given who reads the grauniad, this is probably Gordons first shot (or maybe second, considering what happended to 6 Sqn)