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Carriers to enter service late | |
(about 7 hours later) | |
Defence Secretary John Hutton has said that the Royal Navy's two new aircraft carriers are likely to enter service a year or two later than planned. | |
In a statement to MPs, he added there would be no delay in construction - but work would continue at a slower pace, sustaining jobs for longer. | |
The £4bn shipbuilding project is due to begin next spring. | |
The announcement affects shipyards in Appledore, in north Devon, Portsmouth, Barrow-in-Furness, Glasgow and Rosyth. | The announcement affects shipyards in Appledore, in north Devon, Portsmouth, Barrow-in-Furness, Glasgow and Rosyth. |
Des Browne gave the green light for the construction of HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales in May, when he was defence secretary. | |
'Chaos' | |
Contracts worth about £3.2bn were signed in July and the work is expected to create or make safe a total of 10,000 jobs at the four yards. | |
BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said the government did not view cancelling major defence projects as an option, but considered delays as a way of controlling the Ministry of Defence's (MoD) spiralling budget. | |
Liberal Democrat MP Mike Hancock, a member of the Commons Defence Committee, said the MoD was in financial "chaos". | |
Meanwhile, hundreds of jobs in Somerset are to be secured due to a new government order for 62 Future Lynx helicopters from Agusta Westland, BBC West has learned. | Meanwhile, hundreds of jobs in Somerset are to be secured due to a new government order for 62 Future Lynx helicopters from Agusta Westland, BBC West has learned. |
An immediate contract will also be awarded to upgrade existing Lynx helicopters to prepare them for battlefield sites such as Afghanistan. | An immediate contract will also be awarded to upgrade existing Lynx helicopters to prepare them for battlefield sites such as Afghanistan. |
The order, worth £1bn, has been delayed for more than two years. | The order, worth £1bn, has been delayed for more than two years. |