Contract to build £3.8bn carriers signed at last

Published on Monday 30 June 2008 22:19

THE eagerly awaited signing of a contract for the building of two aircraft super-carriers will take place today, securing thousands of jobs in the shipbuilding industry in Scotland.

The announcement will come as a relief for workers at BAE Systems' Govan and Scotstoun yards, which have 3,000 employees between them, and the Rosyth dockyards.

Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, recently had to send a letter to BAE Systems and VT Group guaranteeing that the MoD would sign a firm contract for the 3.8 billion carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

A ceremony will be held on board the Royal Navy's flagship, HMS Ark Royal, to seal the contract in Portsmouth.

There has been criticism about the cost of the carriers, which has soared by 1 billion during years of delays.

Critics say that the money would have been better spent on ensuring that troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan have enough helicopters and armoured vehicles.

It is estimated the carriers will sustain up to 10,000 jobs across the UK.

MPs have recently debated whether Scottish independence would jeopardise defence jobs – a claim rejected by the SNP as "scaremongering".