The pride of the Clyde! Latest warship will be named HMS Glasgow
Defence Secretary cuts first steel for Navy frigate
WORK on the first of the UK’s new frigate fleet began yesterday as the Defence Secretary cut the steel and announced the vessel would be named HMS Glasgow.
Sir Michael Fallon said the ‘formidable’ fleet will form the backbone of the Royal Navy for decades to come as he visited BAE Systems shipyard in the city’s Govan.
It will be the first of three of the Type 26 anti-submarine frigates to be built as part of a £3.7billion contract that will help safeguard 3,400 jobs at the Clyde shipyard and others across the UK.
But with another five Type 26 vessels to be built in Glasgow, as well as the possibility of a further five lighter frigates, Sir Michael refused to say if the work could be withdrawn from Scotland if there was a second independence referendum.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has pulled back from the immediate prospect of another vote on the future of the UK, but has said she will reconsider the matter at the end of Brexit negotiations.
Asked if the work could be removed from Scotland, Sir Michael said: ‘A second referendum is hypothetical.
‘At the first referendum, Scotland voted to stay within the United Kingdom, to stay inside the defence of the United Kingdom, and Scotland is making its contribution to the defence of the United Kingdom. These are frigates for Britain, these are frigates that will keep all of us safe.’
But the SNP wants the Ministry of Defence to commit to all work being carried out on the Clyde.
Douglas Chapman, the party’s defence procurement spokesman, said: ‘While we welcome today’s long-awaited start to cut steel for three frigates, three is clearly not the 13 promised to the workforce on the Clyde.’
Sir Michael said that after the eight anti-submarine frigates had been built, there would be ‘at least five lighter frigates to follow on’.
The Defence Secretary said currently ‘the eight large anti-submarine frigates are going to be built here on the Clyde’. He hailed the cutting ceremony for HMS Glasgow, using steel from Motherwell, as a ‘massive milestone’.
Speaking to workers, Sir Michael said: ‘These frigates will be the backbone of the Royal Navy. When you consider there are a further five ships to follow the initial three, we are ensuring Govan and Scotland will remain the centre of shipbuilding in our country for decades to come.
‘Naming the ship HMS Glasgow recognises the very special place the Clyde has in naval shipbuilding.’
Scottish Secretary David Mundell, who also attended the ceremony, said the contract was a ‘demonstration of the commitment of the UK Government to build ships on the Clyde’.
Admiral Sir Philip Jones, First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, said: ‘The Clyde was the birthplace of some of the greatest fighting ships the world has known, and so cutting steel there for the future HMS Glasgow is symbolic of a Royal Navy on the rise once again.’
The GMB union also welcomed the ship’s name, saying members would ‘react with pride’. National officer Ross Murdoch said: ‘The name goes back over hundreds of years and is significant for the people of Glasgow, given this is where the first ship will be built.’