JOBS at Clyde shipyards could be lost if there's a delay in building new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy, MPs warned today.

JOBS at Clyde shipyards could be lost if there's a delay in building new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy, MPs warned today.

The Commons Scottish Affairs Committee expressed concern over the delay between the announcement of the carrier programme and the eventual signing of the contract.

Earlier this month the MoD confirmed the £4.2 billion order would go ahead, securing the future of thousands of workers at BAE's Govan and Scotstoun yards.

But the final deal involving BAE, VT and the MoD has still to be concluded, though it is expected to happen soon.

In a report today the committee, headed by Glasgow Central MP Mohammad Sarwar MP, admits delays in starting the work "and a gap in workload could lead to job losses in Scottish shipyards and damage the UK's ship-building skills base".

The committee urges the Ministry of Defence to review how it communicates the progress of defence programmes to limit uncertainty and worry about possible delays.

After tough criticism earlier this year from Govan union leader Jamie Webster, reported in the Evening Times, it also says this will help to avoid "scare-mongering which has been destabilising to the workforce and wider community".

The committee also says classification of auxiliary tankers, which could sustain the yards if work on the carriers was delayed, as commercial rather than naval vessels has led to a "significant amount of confusion".

If they were classified as naval vessels they would be built in British yards but as commercial ships they are subject to EU laws.

The report on employment and skills in the industry says: "The committee was told the classification was due to capacity issues and that tankers could be pulled back to the UK if the carrier programme was delayed. This now appears not to be the case.

"The committee calls on the MoD to clarify its strategy for coping with delays and ensure critical skills are maintained."

Mr Sarwar said: "It is not an exaggeration to say the defence industry in Scotland is vital, not just to people directly employed within the industry, but also to those employed in the wider supply chain.

"We heard during evidence sessions that defence and aerospace industries and the MoD support almost 50,000 jobs in Scotland.

"To secure the future of the industry, and to ensure it remains a world-class base for manufacturing and engineering, we call on the MoD, the Executive, Scottish Enterprise, Skills Develop-ment Scotland, the Scotland Office, and the industry itself to forge a coherent and effective working relationship."