A Government minister and a Ministry of Defence boss have admitted they have no idea when work will start on a vital warship order on the Clyde.

The MoD’s equipment boss Tony Douglas told MPs that the reason for delay was design issues and cash was not the issue.

Mr Douglas also said he was unable to give a date for when the shipbuilding would actually being, and neither could the Defence Minister, Harriett Baldwin.

Thousands of jobs on the Clyde at Govan and Scotstoun are dependent on the Type 26 Frigates contract and delays are making it difficult to retain the skilled workforce between orders until work begins.

His claims come after former First Sea Lord, Admiral Lord West, told the same committee last month there was “no money this year” and next year was “really strapped” as well.

Mr Douglas denied it was a cash problem and said the MoD was still negotiating with BAE Systems over the final design of the ship's communications systems and computer networks.

He said around£1.8 billion had already been committed to long lead-time elements of the project.

He said "If you were building an extension on the back of your house, you wouldn't get it priced if it was only 60% designed.”

When asked when work would commence, he said: “I can’t give you a time or date” and Ms Baldwin said: “We don’t know yet.”

Union Leaders have dismissed the claims by the Ministry of Defence that a lack of cash is not the reason for the delays.

The union at BAE’s Scotstoun shipyard, said the design argument was wrong and they workforce would get started on the ships as soon as they are given the go ahead.

Duncan McPhee, Unite Union convenor at Scotstoun, stated the delay is purely down to money.

He said: “It is financial, nothing to do with design. That is what we have been told.

“When we first heard about the design argument we asked ‘could we get started or is there any design issues?’

“We were told we can start it when we get the go ahead. It is definitely financially driven. Nobody thinks it is design.”

Meanwhile the SNP said any further delays were unacceptable

Brendan O’Hara, Defence spokesman said: "This latest blow to the Type 26 programme is an absolute disgrace.

"When I asked about the scale and range of cuts to the Defence budget because of Brexit and the huge cost of Trident, I got no answer.

“Today Harriet Baldwin has given us part of the answer. Her comments about the Type 26 programme will have been no comfort to the workers on the Clyde who now look like they are facing an indefinite delay.

"This would be an utter betrayal to those workers – their families and the communities that depend on the work. We have had assurance after assurance from Tories at Westminster and Scotland and now we are facing the continuing uncertainty and mismanagement of this vital project.”