Prime Minister awards £4.2bn contract to build five warships on the Clyde

RISHI Sunak has announced a

£4.2 billion contract to build five new Royal Navy warships on the Clyde and support 1,700 jobs in Govan and Scotstoun.

The deal awarded to BAE

Systems for the new Type 26 frigates comes on top of three already under construction, with all expected to be operational by the middle of the next decade.

The Prime Minister made the announcement while he was attending the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.

“Russia’s actions put all of us at risk,” said Mr Sunak.

“As we give the Ukrainian people the support they need, we are also harnessing the breadth and depth of UK expertise to protect ourselves and our allies.

“This includes building the next generation of British warships.”

The expansion of the programme to build the frigates, designed for anti-submarine warfare, follows the attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which have been blamed on the Kremlin.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said that the order would boost the British shipbuilding industry.

He said: “We are investing in our fleet to ensure our Royal Navy maintains its world-leading capability to protect and defend our nation at sea.

“Supporting thousands of highskilled jobs in Scotland, and more across the wider UK supply chain, this contract will continue to boost our British shipbuilding industry, galvanising the very best of British engineering, manufacturing and design.”

The announcement was welcomed by the Scottish Conservative leader Douglas

Ross.

Mr Ross said the contract underlind the “enormous economic benefits” of the Union.

“This is fantastic news for shipbuilding on the Clyde and a massive vote of confidence in the highly-skilled workforce at BAE Systems,” he said.

“This huge investment will safeguard around 3,500 jobs on the Clyde and a further 500 across the UK through to the mid-2030s, as well as boosting our naval defences at a time when the threat from Putin’s Russia is growing.”