A UK defence minister has failed to guarantee that a multi-billion pound programme to build Type 32 frigates in Scotland will go ahead.
Alex Chalk told the Record insisted it remained "overwhelmingly likely" the ships would be built - but added that future specifications still had to be worked out.
The Type 32 was previously announced in November 2020 by former prime minister Boris Johnson as part of a pledge to restore "British influence and excellence across the world’s oceans".
It was expected work would commence at Rosyth dockyard from 2028 but a confirmed start-date has yet to be confirmed.
Speculation has mounted in defence circles in recent months that the project will be scrapped as a cost-saving measure, with work focusing on the previously announced Type 31 frigate instead.
Chalk was visiting the BAE shipyard in Govan today where the first steel was cut on the future HMS Birmingham, the fourth of eight planned Type 26 frigates to be built on the Clyde.
Asked if he could offer confirmation the Type 32 would be built, he said: "Whether we are on the Forth or on the Clyde, we are looking at shipbuilding deep into this decade and beyond.
"We will have Type 31 and Type 26 and there will be ships beyond that. Precisely the spec of those future ships is something you have to work out once you can see all of the capabilities it needs to perform.
"Let me tell you this - 10 years ago there was a question mark about shipbuilding in Scotland. There are no such question marks now.
"So whatever type you want to call it, shipbuilding is secure in Scotland for decades to come."
Asked if there was a question mark over Type 32, he added: "No, I don't think there is.
"We are absolutely committed to Type 31, and I see it as overwhelmingly likely that we will have Type 32 as well."
The Type 32 order to make Britain "the foremost naval power in Europe" was first announced two years ago by Johnson.
The project was expected to guarantee 1,200 jobs at Rosyth dockyard and help retain thousands of jobs in the supply chain.
Ben Wallace, the Secretary State for Defence, previously told MPs in January: "What the Type 32s are going to be, how they will be designed, and who will build them is obviously a matter for [consideration] between now and towards the centre of the decade."
Dave Doogan, SNP defence spokesman, told the Record: "If the Tories are serious about sustained support for Scottish naval shipbuilding, they must commit to building the Type 32, or Type 31 Batch Two, frigates here.
"Anything less would be a betrayal of undertakings given previously to Scotland.
"But of course, it would come as no surprise if they were to backpedal on previous commitments, having recently awarded contracts for the Royal Navy’s three Fleet Solid Support ships not to Scotland, but to Spain.
"The unnecessary prevarication around these future orders is hugely unhelpful to industry and the broader supply chain - the UK Government must now commit to end the uncertainty."
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