Eight Royal Navy type 26 warships confirmed for the Clyde

Clyde shipyard - credit Ian Dick

A multi-million pound deal to built eight new Royal Navy warships on the Clyde will go ahead, the Defence Secetary Michael Fallon has confirmed.

The SNP said the decision was “a tribute” to the shipyard workers, while Scottish Secretary David Mundell said the deal was thanks to the "broad shoulders" of the UK.

The move secures the future of the BAE Systems shipyards at Govan and Scotstoun in Glasgow until at least 2035.

Speaking during a visit to the Govan yard, Fallon said: "Backed by Britain’s rising defence budget, the Type 26 programme will deliver a new generation of cutting-edge warships for our Royal Navy at best value for taxpayers.

“The UK government’s commitment today will secure hundreds of high-skilled shipbuilding jobs on the Clyde for at least two decades and hundreds more in the supply chain across Britain.”

Mundell added: “This is a momentous commitment for Scotland that will strengthen and secure our shipbuilding industry on the Clyde for the future.

“The UK government is backing jobs on the Clyde and in its shipyards – and this investment is only possible because of the broad shoulders of our strong UK defence budget.”

SNP Westminster Defence spokesperson Brendan O'Hara MP said the project had been delayed enough.

"Today’s announcement therefore, confirming that all eight Type-26 Frigates are to be built in Glasgow is very welcome and is a massive tribute to the level of skilled worker that still exists in Glasgow’s shipyards,” he said.

"Before the 2014 independence referendum we were of course promised that there would be thirteen of the Type-26s built on the Clyde, so I would caution the UK Government against being too self-congratulatory today, as all they have done today is fulfil the promise they made last year; the one that replaced the promise they broke the year before.”