'Scots defence industry will be decimated'

Published on Thursday 20 March 2008 21:15

THE Scotland Office minister, David Cairns, warned last night that independence would "decimate" the country's defence industry. He told The Scotsman that the Westminster government would not be prepared to award lucrative contracts for military hardware to a "foreign country" if Scotland left the United Kingdom.

He also predicted a massive drop in the number of armed forces jobs in Scotland, because of the SNP's ambition to have only a "third-rate" peace-keeping force.

However, the SNP branded his comments as "scaremongering nonsense". It said companies based in an independent Scotland would continue to win work on their own merits.

Mr Cairns's warning came after he met defence industry leaders in Edinburgh and heard their concerns about the possible impact of independence.

He had told a meeting of the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) Scotland that 40,000 defence jobs north of the Border depended on the Westminster government and that the Ministry of Defence spent 950 million a year in Scotland.

He pointed to the amount of work heading Scotland's way from the 3.9 billion contracts to build two aircraft carriers. Five destroyers are also being built, while four other Royal Navy vessels are being refurbished.

Though the aircraft carriers – which are due to enter service in 2014 and 2016 – will not be wholly built in Scotland, a sizeable proportion of the work will go to workers on the Clyde and Rosyth.

Mr Cairns told The Scotsman he had no doubt independence would "decimate" Scotland's defence industry.

He said: "I stand by that word. I'm happy to say that to you, in terms of (the SNP's] complete unwillingness to say what they would do to replicate the spending we have already made.

"An independent Scotland will not require two aircraft carriers. Immediately, we are talking about a massive reduction in work. The rest of Britain is not going to have its aircraft carriers and Type 45 destroyers constructed in what would be a foreign country, which would be Scotland.

"Quite frankly, they (the SNP] have got to face up to the fact that the defence industry is an enormously important contributor to Scotland's economy."

Mr Cairns said there were 12,640 armed forces personnel in Scotland and 5,860 civilian staff. The presence of Ministry of Defence bases supported a further 12,500 jobs.

In addition, he claimed a further 9,000 jobs in the defence sector in Scotland were supported by MoD contracts awarded in a typical year.

His comments echo concerns already expressed by trade unions during an ongoing inquiry by the Scottish affairs committee at Westminster.

Yesterday's meeting involved about 15 senior industry figures from companies such as Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems, Thales and Goodridge.

Ian Watson, the SBAC director, said his organisation had concerns about the effects of independence.

He said of the meeting: "We have a council of all the captains of industry in our sector. It was a constructive, positive dialogue.

The industry has concerns at the defence sector and they were given to him (Mr Cairns]. He said he would take the message back. There are concerns from the defence sector in Scotland about the impact of any move towards independence."

Angus Robertson, MP, the SNP's Westminster leader, accused the minister of an "extraordinary ill-judged and ill-informed attack".

He went on: "It is just scaremongering nonsense.

"The only jobs under threat from Scotland becoming independent are those of David Cairns and his fellow Scottish Labour MPs. The reality under Labour and London government is that Scotland has lost 4,500 defence jobs in Scotland – David Cairns should be apologising for that.

"And Scotland gets far less of the UK defence procurement budget than our fair share.

"Scotland has some of the best yards and the best workforce in the world, and will get defence contracts on the basis of merit and achievement. An independent Scotland will support a vibrant defence sector, based on conventional forces – just like other small and successful European nations."

According to the SNP's "National Conversation" document, which maps out the party's long-term hopes, "an independent Scotland would have to consider the role and scale of its armed forces" and may choose to prioritise peacekeeping and disaster-relief missions.