The owners of the Rosyth dockyard have walked back from suggestions the defence company would move their operations to England if Scotland became independent.
John Howie, Babcock’s head of corporate affairs, told MPs in the Commons that the company which employs over 2.500 skilled workers building Royal Navy warships on the Clyde and the Rosyth yard had made massive investment in Scotland with the intention of staying.
He told the Commons Scottish Affairs Committee that moving out of an independent Scotland, as David Lockwood the chief executive of defence giant, had threatened to last week was a “hypothetical situation“.
Lockwood, the Babcock boss, had spoken out about the defence implications of independence after the Prime Minister visited the Fife shipyard last Monday.
He said the company would be able to move manufacturing to Scotland if they were not made welcome in an independent Scotland.
Interviewed last week Lockwood said: “If we had to replicate this in England because we were told we weren’t welcome here – which I think would be a bad mistake for Scotland – but if that were the decision, we can replicate this in three years.”
But Howie told the Scottish Affairs committee that Babcock in Scotland was growing and the company was investing in workforce skills and equipment investment in Rosyth.
Howie said: “What happens constitutionally in the future is between the two governments to decide what the defence landscape looks like and industry’s job is to support them once they’ve made those decisions.”
Howie was helped in defusing the row by Stephen McCann, of the Thales defence equipment manufacturer.
He said his company had a century-long commitment to Scotland.
McCann told MPs: "We’ve been there for over 100 years, and it’s exceptionally important to us. It’s not for us to tell people how to vote or politicians how to define defence policy. “
“So hopefully we will be able to maintain our position. But of course, if choices are made that impact us then those could be significant.
"We’d have to adjust to those and clearly we’re very grateful for the support we get currently from the UK Government.”
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