A UK Defence minister failed to give a guarantee to shipyard worker in the UK that a new fleet of ships would be built in UK Yards.

Anne-Marie Tevelyan, Procurement minister, said that there was decades of work in the Clyde and the future was global cooperation.

Speaking at the steel cutting on HMS Cardiff at Govan Shipyard she praised the “world class shipbuilding industry” and spoke of its “bright future.”

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However when asked if that included the Fleet Solid Support ships that could be built abroad she was unable to say they would be UK built.

She said: “ We move forwards as that requirement comes forward so we’ll be looking at it in the commercial framework in the weeks and months ahead.”

Asked again about the need to look abroad when we have a world class workforce at home she said:”I think the Type 26 model in terms of exporting with the Australians and Canadians appreciating that this extraordinary design that we have for the Type 26 actually affords an opportunity for our allies and us to work in a concerted fashion with interoperability of similar ships that perhaps we haven’t had before, if ever.

“I think that is the critical point that we grow not only by making our ships here but building that supply chain and ensuring the defence industry, the UK is part of the global supply chain across the board.”

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She added:“We have , there’s a lot of MoD work here on the Clyde, there’s 20 years worth of work, so I hope that will give us the opportunity to build and continue to restore and hone that UK not only shipbuilding but the supply chain that goes with it that is so important to UK PLC as a whole.”

When asked for a third time about a guarantee the Fleet Solid Support ships will be build in UK yards, the new minister said: “We will make progress on each class as we work our way through. Give me a couple of weeks to get my head round the pile of papers I’ve got on my desk.”

Glasgow Politicians also at the launch are hopeful hat Ms Trevelyan will be supportive of the UK bid for the ships.

She was a colleague of two Glasgow MPs on the All Party Parliamentary Shipbuilding Group at Westminster.

Chris Stephens, South West SNP MP said: “Questions remain as to the Fleet solid Support ships that should be built in the UK. that would give a secure future but while the threat of being built abroad is there I will continue to question the government on what progress they are making.”

Paul Sweeney, Labour North east MP said: “ Time is marching on.

“I would have expected a degree of urgency with events at Harland and Wolffe, Fergusons and Appledore.

“It is alarming the government is not responding with urgency.”

He added that the economic case with 40% of the cost coming back to the UK and the Treasury in supply contracts and tax is “compelling”.