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Union boss calls for Clyde ship yard work to start 'as soon as possible" Ex-Navy boss Lord West says lack of cash is delaying Clyde frigate project
(about 1 hour later)
A union boss representing Glasgow ship yard workers has insisted the building of the UK's new type 26 frigates should start "as soon as possible". A former head of the Navy said the UK government "must come clean" and admit lack of money is delaying a frigate building programme on the Clyde.
Duncan McPhee from Unite was speaking ahead of the defence select committee taking evidence about the project. Admiral Lord West, First Sea Lord between 2007 to 2010, told the defence committee that the MoD had effectively "run out of money".
Members are looking at claims the timetable for the frigates has slipped. MPs are looking at claims the timetable for the new type 26 has slipped.
Mr McPhee said he was worried about the implications for jobs at the BAE-run Govan and Scotstoun yards, because of a possible delay. The committee heard that work was scheduled for this year but may not start until the first part of 2018.
The Westminster committee is hearing from the union official as well as Navy representatives. Union bosses, who represent workers at the Govan and Scotstoun ship yards, where the frigates are due to built, are worried that if the project continues to be delayed jobs could be lost.
The UK government confirmed in its Strategic Defence and Security Review in November that eight Type 26 frigates would be built on the Clyde, although the total number was scaled back from 13.The UK government confirmed in its Strategic Defence and Security Review in November that eight Type 26 frigates would be built on the Clyde, although the total number was scaled back from 13.
In the meantime, the yards are being sustained by Ministry of Defence orders for new offshore patrol vessels. In the meantime, the BAE Systems-run yards are being sustained by Ministry of Defence orders for new offshore patrol vessels.
Timetable slip Lord West appeared before MPs at Westminster alongside Sir Mark Stanhope, former First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, and Peter Roberts, senior research fellow for sea power and maritime studies at RUSI (Royal United Service Institute).
The peer, who sits on the Labour benches in the House of Lords, told the committee: "There is almost no money available this year and we are really strapped next year. The government aren't coming clear about that. I think if they did people would understand.
"We have run out of money effectively and they [MoD] have pushed this programme to the right and that is bloody dangerous because whenever you do that you end up costing more money and we did that in the early 1990s for the astute class subs. Finally the order came in two months before the election.
"It has taken almost 20 years to get submarine building back on track properly and has cost an extra three-quarters-of-a-billion more than if we had got on with it then.
"This is where the Treasury don't see the long term thing and we are in danger of doing the same thing with our surface warship capability of the Type 26."
He added that a "steady drumbeat of orders" were needed in order to keep "high tech industries" going.
The committee is also taking evidence from representatives of BAE Systems, GE Energy Connections - Power Conversion, Northrop Grumman and Rolls-Royce.
'We are committed'
In addition, MPs will hear from Unite union official Duncan McPhee.
Ahead of his appearance, he told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme that he was worried about the implications for jobs because of delays.
The UK government said it remained committed to shipbuilding on the Clyde.The UK government said it remained committed to shipbuilding on the Clyde.
In April, Scottish Secretary David Mundell told the BBC: "Obviously it is for BAE Systems on how they deal with their operational requirements and I very much want to see them engaging with the trade unions to ensure that they have a smoother transition through to the Type 26 programme."In April, Scottish Secretary David Mundell told the BBC: "Obviously it is for BAE Systems on how they deal with their operational requirements and I very much want to see them engaging with the trade unions to ensure that they have a smoother transition through to the Type 26 programme."
Mr McPhee accepted there would be a slip in the timetable but not a possible two-year slippage.
He told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme said: "The offshore patrol vessels that they placed on the Clyde is basically in-fill work to the Tech 26 programme.
"Anybody that looks at them, they are not the size of a frigate or destroyer and they don't obviously need the same amount of people, so it's really the implication of the delay."
SNP MP and member of the select committee Douglas Chapman believed a promise on future investment was needed.
He told the BBC: "What we are looking for is really a firm commitment from the British government that we will see continued investment in the skills and the workforce at Scotstoun and Govan, and make sure that we have a clear and continuous line of construction of the frigates that were proposed and promised some time ago."