Reports: Next batch of frigate orders to ‘go to Mersey instead of the Clyde’
Posted on October 19 2017 at 10:51
SNP Defence spokesperson
Stewart McDonald MP has said the Tories are yet again jeopardising the future
of the Clyde shipyards following reports today which suggest that the first
batch of Type 31 frigates could be destined for other yards - rather than the
Clyde.
Stewart McDonald MP
commented:
"If these reports are true it would be yet another slap in the face for
the Clyde yards.
"The Tories cannot be trusted on shipbuilding. We have the skills, the
expertise, the infrastructure in Scotland - but what we have also had is years
of promises from Westminster - that have been broken. A key component of a
steady stream of work for Scottish shipbuilding is this new T31e smaller
frigate. So, for the suggestion that they will be built elsewhere is of real concern.
"The UK government has form on this.They originally boasted that 13 Type
26 frigates would be built on the Clyde. They then slashed that guarantee
to 8. It has now dropped
to 3 - with the MoD insisting that the remaining 5 will be built but that
negotiations on those contracts will now not start until the early 2020s.
"Today’s reports are deeply worrying and I will be raising this in
parliament at the first opportunity.’’
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