UK plans own satnav system as Brussels threatens ban

MINISTRY of Defence officials have started preliminary work on a £3billion British satellite navigation system because the UK could be shut out of the European Union’s Galileo network.

The move comes amid a deepening row with Brussels over whether Britain can still be trusted with Europe’s security information after the Brexit vote.

Galileo is Europe’s rival to the global positioning system developed and controlled by the US, used by millions of consumer devices around the world in a multibillion-dollar satnav market

The Government has already started to take legal advice on whether it can recoup the €1.4 billion (£1.2 billion) it has invested in the programme since 2003 after being blocked from the most sensitive elements.

Now Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, has told The Daily Telegraph that he has ordered experts to start developing plans for a British system.

Mr Williamson has been lobbying EU defence ministers and Nato allies over the EU’S blocking of the UK. He wants to put pressure on the EU Commission and particularly France. Writ- ing in today’s Telegraph, he said: “Questions over our participation in the Galileo satellite programme are a perfect example of how there is an abundance of opportunity out there for us to take advantage of.

“We should not fear or doubt our ability to go it alone or to seek out new partnerships. We have the expertise, the technical know-how and, crucially, the will to succeed.

“That’s why it is right our brilliant defence scientists and military experts have started work scoping out the possibilities of developing our own satellite system while we continue talks with the European Commission over our future role in Galileo. And we won’t rule out working with other nations.”

The UK Galileo rival is likely to feature in a new defence space strategy being developed by the MOD.

Whitehall sources said the scheme – known as the UK Global Navigation Satellite System – could deliver a £3 billion boost to the economy and create 5,000 jobs over the next 20 years.

Early work found that there are no fundamental technical obstacles to a UK system, sources have told The Telegraph.