Work begins on warships

Work has officially started on two of the largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy.

Peter Luff, minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, was at the site in Rosyth, Fife, as the Goliath crane swung into action, signalling the beginning of construction on the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.

Goliath, one of Europe’s biggest cranes, is preparing to lift the first sections of the 65,000-tonne vessels into place.

The construction project is said to be worth billions of pounds to the Scottish economy.

Mr Luff said: “This is an exciting week for the carrier programme and it is a huge privilege to witness what can only be described as history in the making.”