Fallon hits back in Clyde frigates row

Defence Secretary denies plan is betrayal of Scots shipyards

DEFENCE Secretary Sir Michael Fallon was yesterday forced to deny accusations he had ‘betrayed’ Scotland’s shipyards over work on new warships.

The row came after he announced that the first batch of five new Type 31e frigates will be built in blocks across several British shipyards and then assembled at a central hub.

The ships, along with eight new Type 26 frigates that are being built in Glasgow, will replace part of the Navy fleet which is being phased out.

Sir Michael’s plans mean that rather than guaranteeing the work to shipbuilders in Scotland, the contracts will be put out to tender across the UK, ending the Clyde’s ‘warship monopoly’ on the industry.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accused the Conservative administration of pulling back from a pledge that the yards on the Clyde would be a ‘frigate factory’ for the Navy.

But Sir Michael hit back, saying the Clyde is already getting 20 years of work building the Type 26 anti-sub frigates as part of a £3.7billion contract and yards across Scotland can also tender for the Type 31e contract.

Sir Michael told the House of Commons: ‘It is true that the monopoly that the Clyde has enjoyed for so long in warship building is ending.

‘But, equally, the Clyde yards – we are talking not just about BAE Systems, there is the Ferguson yard as well – are perfectly free to compete for this work, in addition to the work on the heavy frigates that they are already building.

‘There is a frigate factory on the Clyde, namely the Govan and Scotstoun yards, to which I gave 20 years of work back in July.

‘As a result of today’s announcement, it will be able to bid for the lighter frigate as well.’

The move means that re-emerging shipyards across England, such as Birkenhead on Merseyside, Appledore in Devon, and Harland and Wolff in Belfast, will be eligible to build the ships.

The new Type 31e frigates are due to be in service by 2023 and their cost will be capped at £250million each, with yards urged to make the vessel competitive.

Miss Sturgeon, whose Glasgow Southside constituency includes the Govan yard, said the UK Government had ‘broken its promise’ to the shipbuilders of Scotland.

She said: ‘Workers on the Clyde today have every right to feel let down and betrayed.’

Gary Cook, GMB Scotland organiser and Scottish chairman of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions, said: ‘Although the future of the Upper Clyde is secure until the 2030s through the Type-26 programme, the promised “frigate factory” – vital to the UK’s ability to compete in the global market – has been shelved.’