Exclusive:Harland & Wolff union demand as 400 jobs 'must not be sacrificed' at threatened Scottish shipyards

Two Scottish yards employing 400 people must not be sacrificed to save struggling shipbuilder Harland & Wolff’s sites in Belfast and Devon, the GMB union has demanded.

The plea comes after the firm that built the Titanic launched a six-week strategic review of the business, which includes fabrication sites at Methil in Fife and Arnish, near Stornoway, in the Western Isles.

The GMB fears the Methil yard in Fife will be sidelined | PA

The future of the company is in doubt after the UK government refused to guarantee £200 million of loans because of the "very substantial risk taxpayer money would be lost".

The firm, founded by in 1861 by Sir Edward Harland and Gustav Wolff, acquired the two Scottish yards three years ago. The GMB said the uncertainty came months after the company hailed plans to turn its Scottish sites into manufacturing hubs for renewable energy with new quays and a floating dry dock. Scotland secretary Louise Gilmour said interim executive chair Russell Downs gave no reassurance over their future on a visit last week.

She said: “We were assured that no plans have been finalised. They will be soon, however, and the Scottish yards must be central to them. These sites have the potential to be cornerstones of an industrial strategy, creating skilled jobs and apprenticeships for years to come.”

Ms Gilmour has now called on the Scottish and UK governments to “urgently engage” with Harland & Wolff over possible investment opportunities. She said the firm’s apparent lack of interest in discussing financial support with ministers as part of its review “should raise a red flag for anyone wanting these yards to protected”.

“Every possible lever must be pulled by ministers to ensure executives fully understand the potential of these sites,” she said.

Scottish Conservatives transport spokesperson Graham Simpson said: “We must all hope that the Scottish facilities survive this review.

“But if they do, it will be no thanks to the SNP Government, which has done little to support business and, by making Scotland the highest-taxed part of the UK, made it less attractive for companies and skilled workers to base themselves here.”

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Scottish Liberal Democrats economy spokesperson Willie Rennie said: "Workers at the Methil yard have been put through the ringer in recent years. It's utterly bonkers to be building one of the world's biggest wind farms off the coast of Fife while contemplating the closure of a fabrication yard mere miles away.

"Scottish ministers and their UK government counterparts need to be locked in a room with Harland & Wolff and a deal hammered out." Harland & Wolff said it was focused on “maintaining and building our core businesses”, which included the Scottish yards, and it had scrapped a planned ferry service between Penzance and the Scilly Isles on Thursday to that end.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Harland & Wolff has secured short term funding with its creditor, which is a positive step forward for the company and its staff. Ministers continue to work directly with the company, GMB and UK ministers to ensure the best interests of the Methil and Arnish sites, and the people who work there, are clearly represented.”

The UK government said Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds had suggested last week “the market is best placed to resolve the commercial matters faced by Harland & Wolff”.