The cancelling of a multi-billion pound shipbuilding order would be "catastrophic" and put thousands of Scottish jobs at risk, the SNP has warned. The £2.5billion plan to build five new Type 32 frigates at Rosyth shipyard could be cancelled as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt plans to divert funding elsewhere, according to the Sunday Times.
The order to make Britain "the foremost naval power in Europe" was announced two years ago by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Work on the frigates is supposed to begin in 2028. The project was to employ more than 1,200 staff and help retain thousands of jobs in the supply chain.
But they could be dropped in this spring's defence review. Current work on Type 26 frigates at BAE Systems Clyde yards and Type 31 frigates at Babcock's Rosyth yards will start to wind down in the second half of this decade.
